Northern triangle tech companies raise £1.3bn
Digital economy minister Chris Philp welcomed record investment in the ‘Northern Triangle’ tech sector which has seen 1,500 startups and scale-ups from Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester raise a collective £1.3bn since 2017.
The figure which is the result of analysis by the UK’s Digital Economy Council identified that tech businesses in Leeds. Sheffield and Manchester raised £420m last year, 32 per cent of all venture capital flowing into the UK’s tech industry since 2017.
Chris Philp MP
He added the the government was committed to supporting this growth.
He explained: “We know tech needs talent, investment and ideas to flourish – and we’re investing in top level AI training, skills partnerships with businesses, as well as research and development tax credits.”
The research however showed the trend for investment in the regions wasn’t limited to the Northern triangle with investment in the UK’s regional cities was up 83 per cent last year.
The report also identified companies including Zilico in Sheffield which is improving cervical cancer diagnostics and C-Capture in Leeds which is designing chemical processes for carbon dioxide removal to help fight climate change, as some of the beneficieries of this growing investment outside of London.
Looking ahead the North’s strong university sector were highlighted as a breeding ground for innovative firms, with researchers noting they expected to see an increase over the next few years of univeristy spin outs, as initiatives such as Northern Gritstone, a new investment company to fund spinout enterprises from the three universities, help to fund a new generation of university-founded startups.
Duncan Johnson, CEO at Northern Gritstone, said: “These brilliant figures demonstrate the groundwork that has been laid in these cities to create world-leading tech companies. For too long, startups and scaleups from the Universities of Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield have been overlooked by international investors. We established Northern Gristone to tackle this uneven playing field of funding and support the world-class innovation that is taking place every day in this dynamic ecosystem.”
