Investment in Britain's tech sector jumped 44% in 2019 - report

By Paul Sandle

 

FILE PHOTO: A view of the London skyline shows the City of London financial district, seen from St Paul's Cathedral in London, Britain February 25, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Investment in Britain's tech sector surged 44% to a record $13.2 billion pounds in 2019, accounting for a third of all European funding and exceeding the total in France and Germany combined, the UK government's Digital Economy Council said on Wednesday.

 

The UK was behind only the United States and China in the level of venture capital funding, and it saw strong growth whereas both of its bigger rivals saw declines, according to the research conducted by Tech Nation and Dealroom.co.

 

On a city level, London joined San Francisco's Bay Area, Beijing and New York at the top of the world's most-funded locations, it said.

 

Digital Minister Matt Warman said it was "fantastic to see Britain continues to be the best place in Europe to start and grow a tech business, with record-breaking investment and the creation of eight new billion-dollar companies last year."

 

He said that while the country was in a good position, it could not afford to be complacent and had to ensure that government policy supported the sector.

 

"On access to talent, we will have a different immigration policy over the coming years and that will be an important opportunity for us to show that Britain is still very much the right place to start or grow a tech business," he said in an interview.

 

The Conservatives plan to introduce an "Australian-style" points-based immigration system, and have promised to reduce overall immigration numbers, especially among the less skilled.

 

Under the new system, which will treat EU and non-EU citizens the same, most immigrants will need a job offer to come to Britain, but there will be special visa schemes for those who are leaders in fields such as science and technology or who will fill shortages in public services.

 

Britain was striking the right balance between regulating the fast-growing tech sector, for example in developing polices to make the internet as safe as it could be, Warman said, while also remaining pro-investment.

 

The research showed that companies headquartered in London raised $9.7 billion pounds of the total, and the amount of money invested in early-stage companies jumped to $5.1 billion in 2019, from $4 billion the year before.

 

Tech investor Saul Klein, co-founder of venture capital firm LocalGlobal, said Britain's success had been 20 years in the making, starting with the arrival of U.S. companies which had established an ecosystem that helped home-grown firms flourish.

 

"When you look at the number of $1 billion companies - AKA 'unicorns' in Silicon Valley tech talk - London has 46 unicorns, Berlin has 12, Paris has 11," he said. A unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at more than $1 billion.

 

"In the last 10 years, Britain has consolidated its position through a combination of capital, talent and building these $1 billion companies."

 

The eight British companies that reached unicorn status in 2019 were Rapyd, CMR Surgical, Babylon Health, Sumup, Trainline <TRNT.L>, Acuris, Checkout.com and OVO Energy, taking the total created in the UK to 77, twice the total in Germany and almost four times as many as Israel, the report said.

 

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-15

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28 minutes ago, webfact said:

Digital Minister Matt Warman said it was "fantastic to see Britain continues to be the best place in Europe to start and grow a tech business, with record-breaking investment and the creation of eight new billion-dollar companies last year."

Surely some mistake. I have been reading posts by experts on this very forum for the last 3 years telling how Britain is doomed and will go belly-up after Brexit. Is Britain's booming economy discussed in this article disguising a bankrupt reality, or is it more likely the doom mongers were talking emotionally triggered nonsense and will be along shortly to apologize?

1 minute ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Surely some mistake. I have been reading posts by experts on this very forum for the last 3 years telling how Britain is doomed and will go belly-up after Brexit. Is Britain's booming economy discussed in this article disguising a bankrupt reality, or is it more likely the doom mongers were talking emotionally triggered nonsense and will be along shortly to apologize?

Beat me to it.

 

All of this investment "despite Brexit". The Project Fear peddlers on ThaiVisa seem to have gone quiet lately. Clearly the wealthy tech investors know something they don't. ????

Rêmoaners seething!! ????

 

Edited January 15, 20206 yr by Sticky Wicket

4 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Rêmoaners seething!! ????

 

They'll certainly be hoping these stories disappear quickly so they can keep up their doomsday narrative ????.

Nice to see!

 

And of course, there's no envy from Berlin and Paris ????

22 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

Nice to see!

 

And of course, there's no envy from Berlin and Paris ????

Germany and France had a fair rise in tekky investment too. But not as good as the UK. Shocking with Brexit and all! ????

Edited January 15, 20206 yr by nauseus

‘Investment’?

 

Like the quiet sale of Cobham 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50874181

 

We perhaps now know the purpose of John Bolton’s visit to No 10.

 

 

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

‘Investment’?

 

Like the quiet sale of Cobham 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50874181

 

We perhaps now know the purpose of John Bolton’s visit to No 10.

 

 

No. Not the same at all.

8 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Beat me to it.

 

All of this investment "despite Brexit". The Project Fear peddlers on ThaiVisa seem to have gone quiet lately. Clearly the wealthy tech investors know something they don't. ????

Indeed. A few months ago it was reported the biggest, Hedge Fund pumped Billions into the UK, preparing for a post Brexit boom

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

‘Investment’?

 

Like the quiet sale of Cobham 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50874181

 

We perhaps now know the purpose of John Bolton’s visit to No 10.

 

 

Finally one comes out of the woodwork ????.

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

Finally one comes out of the woodwork ????.

How about challenging my post.

 

Selling strategically important industry is not ‘investment’.

Had brexit happened?

3 minutes ago, Sujo said:

Had brexit happened?

Not yet, but UK assets are currently at discounted prices thanks to the Brexit impact on the pound.

 

20 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Not yet, but UK assets are currently at discounted prices thanks to the Brexit impact on the pound.

 

People will always try to make fast monry until reality hits.

 

Effects of brexit will be about a year from it.

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

How about challenging my post.

 

Selling strategically important industry is not ‘investment’.

How about staying on topic instead of googling some ‘bad’ story about the U.K and putting it down to Brexit to counter this story.
 

You look pathetic wishing the U.K. to fail. The definition of a hater. We don’t need sore losers like you, so do one.

The Benefits of High-Tech Job Growth Don’t Trickle Down

 

Now, a new study finds clear evidence that low-skilled workers fail to benefit from high-tech growth and development. Even in the face of very strong job-creating multipliers, low-skill service work pays so poorly that the average wage for these workers actually falls, with their income further eroded by high housing costs.

In a forthcoming article in the journal Research Policy, Neil Lee of the London School of Economics and Stephen Clarke of the Resolution Foundation in London, track the growth and effects of high-tech and digital industries across cities in the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2015.

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/08/technology-employment-multiplier-effect-inequality-research/595291/

12 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Beat me to it.

 

All of this investment "despite Brexit". The Project Fear peddlers on ThaiVisa seem to have gone quiet lately. Clearly the wealthy tech investors know something they don't. ????

 

      Wow ,   so we expats,  can expect Gbp to fly high ,  maybe rise  to 40 Thb...

    We are indeed blessed ..

 

Edited January 15, 20206 yr by elliss

Still the hater hatred. Just watch Britain sore........ Britain has been stripped and kept down for nearly 40 years and it has survived to still be one of the largest economies in the world. The hating haters still don't get it that the success of GB is just a side benifit because its all about sovereignty and having our country back. 

1 hour ago, Scot123 said:

Still the hater hatred. Just watch Britain sore........ Britain has been stripped and kept down for nearly 40 years and it has survived to still be one of the largest economies in the world. The hating haters still don't get it that the success of GB is just a side benifit because its all about sovereignty and having our country back. 

 

Many of the haters left the UK because they had given up on life their. Now they cheer the demise so they can justify their new existence. Let them believe they are much better off anywhere else than the UK. There is no future for the UK and just about anybody would be better off living in Thailand, on a pension that doesn't increase, facing a strengthening Baht.

 

On the flip side of the coin the Uk has a very promising future. 

 

 

4 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Not yet, but UK assets are currently at discounted prices thanks to the Brexit impact on the pound.

 

 

Maybe you should stop crying and start buying? That's the thing about the haters. They never do anything but moan. Many people sit on the sidelines and then wonder why others who participate get rewarded for it. 

 

1 hour ago, Scot123 said:

Still the hater hatred. Just watch Britain sore........ Britain has been stripped and kept down for nearly 40 years and it has survived to still be one of the largest economies in the world. The hating haters still don't get it that the success of GB is just a side benifit because its all about sovereignty and having our country back. 

Stripped, kept down, survived, yet somehow at the end of it the UK one of the largest economies in the world?  Maybe more countries should be so lucky as to be stripped, kept down, and to somehow survive. Below is a graph charting UK economic growth since 1970. If you faint easily, don't look. This record of oppression may be too grim for sensitive viewers.

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/gdp

9 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Many of the haters left the UK because they had given up on life their. Now they cheer the demise so they can justify their new existence. Let them believe they are much better off anywhere else than the UK. There is no future for the UK and just about anybody would be better off living in Thailand, on a pension that doesn't increase, facing a strengthening Baht.

 

On the flip side of the coin the Uk has a very promising future. 

 

 

Classic projection.

12 hours ago, elliss said:

 

      Wow ,   so we expats,  can expect Gbp to fly high ,  maybe rise  to 40 Thb...

    We are indeed blessed ..

 

Speak for yourself. Not all expats benefit from a strong pound.

 

For every Yin there appears to be about 14 yangs.

 

Brexit Has Already Cost the U.K. More than Its EU Budget Payments, Study Shows

 

"The cost of Brexit has already been predicted to hit £200 billion this year - totalling more than the UK has paid into the EU over 47 years."