The UK technology sector drew a record £29.4bn in investment this year, with the majority going into health tech companies, research published by the government’s Digital Economy Council has revealed.
Tech investment grew 2.3x this year, the highest growth since 2013 to 2014 when it grew from $2bn (£1.5bn) to $4.6bn (£3.5bn).
Twenty-nine unicorns were created this year, taking the UK’s total up to 115, meaning 25 per cent of the UK’s total unicorns were created in 2021 alone.
The research found that thirty seven per cent of all funding came from the US, up from 31.5 per cent last year, with the majority of it going into fintech and health tech companies.
It named Cambridge the leading regional tech city in the UK, ahead of Manchester and Oxford, due its high levels of venture capital funding and number of unicorns. Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast were also in the top 10.
Gerard Grech, founding chief executive, Tech Nation, said: “With such a record tech investment year, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the UK is very good at rearing and cultivating startups and scale-ups into successful global companies right across the UK.
“A true network of digital excellence is emerging right across the country through entrepreneurship, driving new job and wealth creation.”
According to figures compiled by the data firm Dealroom and job search engine Adzuna, the number of tech jobs increased by 165% in Manchester last year while the highest tech salaries outside London, still the UK’s main tech hub, were in Edinburgh at an average of £58,405.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder at job search engine Adzuna, said businesses are struggling to find skilled staff.
“The growth of tech companies across the UK has led to a surge in hiring across the country.
“The number of IT job openings is higher than its ever been and is consistently growing week on week. In particular, it’s great to see strong hiring in cities like Manchester and Birmingham which are showcasing some of the highest figures outside of London.
“The struggle for businesses across the country is having enough skilled staff to fill these positions to allow them to keep growing.”
