- Tech Nation’s 2018 Report shows UK growth in sector to £184 billion
- Bristol has a £7.9 billion digitech business turnover
- Nick Sturge named as ‘most influential person’ in Bristol cluster
Today, Thursday 17th May, Tech Nation, formerly Tech City UK, has released its 2018 report on the UK’s digitech sector which is growing at a rate 2.6 times faster than the rest of the economy. Overall, the sector value increased by £14 billion from 2016 to 2017 topping out at £184 billion for the year. In terms of clusters, Bristol is the largest outside of the capital bringing in £7.9 billion in turnover.
Bristol’s tech sector contributes £2.6 billion in GVA with nearly 27,000 digitech jobs. For productivity, the city region has a top of the league standing with £320k turnover per worker. Research has found that access to funding is the number one challenge whereas a helpful tech community is the top strength. The report states that ‘Investment is the buzzword in this deep-rooted digital tech cluster, with game-changing funding flooding in for specific companies and citywide initiatives alike.’
Nick Sturge, Director at Engine Shed has been voted as most influential by Bristol start-ups. Commenting on this, Nick said:
“We know that Bristol is a fantastic city with great strengths – in the diversity of sectors and within the population, both of which lead to high levels of innovation and productivity. One of our biggest strengths however, is our proximity to, and integration with, Bath – and we really are one cluster. It is a shame that TechNation opted not to reflect what those of us, who work hard to make this Bristol & Bath cluster prosper, recommended, and omit Bath from the analysis.”
Full details of the report can be found here.