Rotherham ranked third fastest-growing tech cluster in the UK

ROTHERHAM has been ranked the third-fastest growing tech cluster in the UK according to the latest KPMG/Markit Tech Monitor UK Survey.

The South Yorkshire town was ranked behind only Warwick and Hackney as it had a 21% increase in tech sector enterprises in the last year.

Yorkshire and Humber ranked fifth in the UK with 8.5% increase against last year, while the North West in eighth position achieved a 7.2% rise in the number of tech firms.

However, compared to other regions, the North still fares below average by concentration of businesses from the sector. The North West region ranked sixth with tech companies accounting for 6.4% of the regional economy, while Yorkshire and Humber and the North East are joint ninth with 5.5%, compared to a national average of 7.7%.

 

The areas with the highest proportion of technology enterprises are Reading, at 22%, followed by Wokingham, Slough, Hounslow and Milton Keynes, with 17%.

York tops Yorkshire and Humber with 7.7% while Warrington remains the top tech hub in  the North, with 9.8% of its business community hailing from tech. 

 

Graham Pearce, director and head of technology, media, and telecommunications at KPMG in the North, said: “The North is home to a great community of tech businesses and the growth that we have seen over the past year shows that there is more to the sector than the M4 corridor and Silicon Roundabout.

 

“Rotherham and North Tyneside are just two areas that have shown impressive expansion, and coupled with other clusters in the likes of Warrington and York, the North is building a tech sector to be proud of. But, with the industry still punching below its weight on a national level, there is a lot more work to be done in encouraging new Northern start-ups and attracting established enterprises to the region.”