17 INTERNATIONAL TECH HUB | BDO LLP
LONDON (UK)
add academic substance to this appeal. As you move out of the south east, there are very
OUR EXPERT Tony Spillett, National Head of Technology and Media, BDO UK
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
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
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
instead in a pretty agile way. ACCESSING LOCAL TALENT
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
Made with FlippingBook HTML5