Say the words ‘tech hub’ and you might think of Silicon Valley, with its accumulation of mega tech companies such as Google and Facebook; or maybe London, with its plethora of fintech start-ups, diverse talent and private equity support. Leeds may not be a city that comes to mind; but think again, as this northern star is one of the UK’s fastest growing tech hubs. From its industrial roots, this city is now a prime spot for high tech businesses, drawing in resources and investment to boost its thriving economy.
So what makes Leeds such a good place for tech companies? Well, for starters Leeds City Council have been making a concerted effort to attract them to the city, establishing the Leeds Tech Hub Fund in 2016 with the aid of a £3.7m grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. They’ve put the money to good use supporting six different projects; one of the most significant was a £2m investment in Bruntwood, who used the money to create Platform, a tech hub and shared space where entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-ups can mingle and collaborate together. Duke Street were allocated money to turn their warehouse space in Sheaf Street into a new innovation lab, and Leeds Open Data Institute received funding to upgrade their popular shared working space.
These developments all illustrate a new trend in co-working spaces which is driving demand for office property in the city. The popularity of ‘working alone, together’ looks set to continue to grow, and despite a shortage of Grade A office supply, companies are doing their best to accommodate; Spaces, another co-working provider, has recently done a deal on 24,000 sq ft at 7 Park Row (src: Savills). This availability of shared working spaces is another reason that Leeds is so sought-after by tech companies, particularly start-ups; co-working spaces allow for easy collaboration and idea exchange, and are set up to maximise the productivity and creativity so important to the tech industry.
Another big draw for Leeds is its plentiful supply of fresh talent; with several well-established universities, the area produces nearly 40,000 graduates a year, thus ensuring a continual stream of new recruits. The Leeds Digital Job Fair, which attracts thousands of students and over 50 different employers, ensures that the region’s 15,000 STEM graduates are funnelled towards the city’s tech brands. Education providers are also encouraging their graduates into the world of tech; Leeds Beckett and the University of Leeds offer their own start-up programme for students, with advice, funding, and workshops for would-be entrepreneurs.
Leeds also offers a wide variety of tech events, providing opportunities for networking, recruitment and connection. The best-known of these is the Leeds Digital Festival, the UK’s biggest tech festival. In 2019 the festival played host to 240 different events - that’s more than in San Francisco! With 250,000 attendees and 750 speakers, this festival truly offers something for everyone; masterclasses, panel discussions, seminars, coding competitions, full day conferences, start-up challenges and more. And smaller events continue throughout the year, hosted by organisations such as Glug and FutureLabs (another recipient of funding from the Leeds Tech Hub Fund).
But is all this effort to attract tech companies paying off? It would certainly seem so, with the digital sector now contributing £1.3 billion to the city’s economy and a staggering £6.5 billion to the wider region, according to Yorkshire Forward, the Leeds development agency. In 2018 Leeds set a new northern record for investment, bringing in £108.8 million, and, according to Tech Nation, the city now has a digital GVA of £688 million with a growth potential of 92% – a number that’s only matched in the UK by Edinburgh and Brighton. The city is now home to 19 of the North’s fastest-growing tech businesses, as well as two tech unicorns (privately owned start-up tech companies with a valuation of over $1 billion), Sky Betting and Gaming and Callcredit.
Datacommons for UK Tech has also identified two more Leeds companies with unicorn potential - Crisp Thinking, and Pharmacy2U. In fact, Leeds is a haven not only for start-ups but also for scale-ups; in 2018, according to Beauhurst’s Scale Up Index, Leeds had the highest concentration of scale-ups outside London, at 209. And all this booming business is great for employment too - 22% of the UK’s digital health jobs are based in Leeds, and tech jobs in general in the city have increased by 46% over the last 18 months. Sky Betting and Gaming alone created 230 jobs in a year, drawing in yet more talent to the Leeds area. So while Leeds may not quite be Silicon Valley just yet, watch this space; the UK’s tech city is catching up fast.