13 INTERNATIONAL TECH HUB | BDO LLP
LONDON (UK)
EASE OF ENTRY London is a place that understands start-ups, whether that’s a big global player moving into this country for the first time or a bunch of people getting together and inventing something from scratch. Founders are often amazed at just how easy it is to get started here. You can literally set up a company overnight, open a bank account, and hire some freelance or payroll talent very quickly. Although the British tax system is intricate, it’s not actually that hard for a small business to navigate. There are pitfalls to watch out for (and incentives to harvest) but with some good independent advice these are actually quite easy to prepare for and address. It’s even more straightforward in the case of small, high-growth tech businesses, because these tend not to have a lot of fixed assets such as premises and real estate, but operate The employment market is not difficult to navigate, especially compared with many continental European markets, and employee social security costs are not prohibitive either. While there are temporary shortages in some areas, these tend to be in the most high-profile areas, and generally the constant inflow of new talent allows the job market to keep replenishing itself. THE TECH LANDSCAPE Within central London, one tech area could be seen as occupying a rough sweep of the city which runs from central areas like Clerkenwell and Farringdon, stretches east through Old Street, Shoreditch and Whitechapel, and then extends southwards to take in London Bridge and Southwark. This London area is associated with digital media, software, edtech and more traditional tech players. Then there’s the Heathrow Airport effect, which has seen the development of another tech belt that goes out from west London, through Reading – home to the likes of Oracle, Microsoft and Dell – all the way now to Bristol. Then, between the M3 and the M4, you have a series of towns which are host to a lot of the big US tech companies, such as Basingstoke and Bracknell. There’s some activity on the south coast too, around towns like Brighton and Southampton. Finally, there’s the “brain belt” of tech activity running from Oxford to Milton Keynes and on to, which is also heavily associated with life sciences. instead in a pretty agile way. ACCESSING LOCAL TALENT Most of these hubs operate on the typical tech model, with synergy from universities and the big tech giants creating an ecosystem of specialist talent, supply chains and spinoffs. In London, for example, we often see people who leave Google and go on to build their own business as part of Google’s supply chain or in partnership. Similarly, in the Thames Valley, you see a number of start-ups formed by people peeling off from the European HQs of the big US tech giants. When we look at the Tech Track 100 every year, we always see a great deal of high- growth tech in the Thames Valley area.
OUR EXPERT Tony Spillett, National Head of Technology and Media, BDO UK
OVERVIEW London is the biggest city in Europe and one of the most significant tech hubs in the global ecosystem. It boasts the accumulation of hundreds of years’ worth of infrastructure, access to some of the world’s best universities, and an unparalleled heritage of science, culture, research and development. It’s one of the world’s foremost financial centres too, and just about every major global business company and major bank has a significant presence here. It’s set up for tech businesses of all sizes to set up and thrive. Being such an international city, London brings together a deep and diverse pool of technical and creative talent that adds significantly to its appeal, and consolidates Britain’s long-standing reputation as a centre of entrepreneurship and innovation. It’s very much a melting pot, with a resolutely international outlook and makeup. The fact that English – with whatever accent you speak it – remains the lingua franca of business is another obvious advantage. Geographically, the connectivity with major international airports and infrastructure across the whole southern region – all of which could easily be mistaken as ‘Greater London’ – has helped with the development of such as the Thames Valley, long established now as a European home-from-home for US tech giants. The likes of Oxford, Reading and other universities add academic substance to this appeal. As you move out of the south east, there are very significant government grants available for locating in a number of other regions which are still pretty well connected to the capital and globally.
LONDON BRINGS TOGETHER A DEEP AND DIVERSE POOL OF TECHNICAL AND CREATIVE TALENT
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