Tech Nation Report 2020: UK Tech For A Changing World
Returning for its sixth year, the groundbreaking annual Tech Nation Report was launched online on 17th March 2020 by Chief Executive Gerard Grech. This year’s report highlights how the UK has cemented its position as Europe’s top scaling tech nation and is driving global success in the fields of investment, innovation, growth, employment, and productivity.
Key findings from this year’s report:
Technology is rapidly evolving the way we live and work, and UK tech in particular is at the forefront of this change.
- Digital tech sector GVA grew nearly 6x faster than that of the rest of the UK economy in 2018 – contributing £149bn to the UK economy.
- Digital tech employs 2.9m people in the UK, an increase of 40% from 2017 (now accounting for 9% of the national workforce).
- 95 UK companies valued at between $250-$800m in the UK in 2019, set to become the tech unicorns of the future
- 25% of Europe’s top 20 highest investment tech cities are in the UK – Manchester, London, Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge.
Key statistics:
UK tech is scaling
- UK is Europe’s top scaling tech nation, and is increasing its lead in the world.
- £10.1bn Investment into UK tech companies in 2019 – a record.
- 95 Companies valued at $250-$800m in the UK in 2019, a 27% increase from 2018.
- Manchester, London, Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge are among Europe’s top 20 cities for tech investment. Manchester is Europe’s fastest-growing major tech cluster, with investment growing from £48m in 2018 to £181m in 2019.
- The UK is 3rd in the world for tech unicorns behind only the US and China, with 77 companies valued at over $1bn.
- Tech sector GVA grew nearly six times as fast as that of the UK economy as a whole – £104bn in 2010 to £149bn in 2018, +43% in eight years.
- UK tech employment grew by 40% in the last 2 years, now accounting for 9% of the national workforce with 2.93m jobs created
- UK tech companies aligned to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have raised £2.2bn over the last 6 years, the highest in Europe.
About the Tech Nation Report
The Tech Nation Report has been the UK’s State of the Nation report on tech since 2015. Each year it has monitored the growth of the sector, and provided information about opportunities and challenges. As emerging and maturing technologies continue to disrupt and transform incumbent industries, and tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, the report this year focuses on UK tech for a changing world. As we live through the fastest pace of change in history, UK tech is at the forefront of some of the biggest questions, and providing the answers.
Gerard Grech, Chief Executive, Tech Nation notes, “Tech is rapidly evolving the way we live and work. Game-changing companies are positively transforming societies and economies – shifting global boundaries and redefining growth for the 21st century.
Companies at the pinnacle of growth, scaleups, are becoming an ever more important part of UK tech, with nearly 82% of tech sector investment now being made into these job-generating, value-creating powerhouses of the future. At Tech Nation, we specifically work with these tech companies every day through our growth and sector programmes, which are designed to fuel growth by unlocking the potential of leadership teams. ”
Click to read more about the Tech Nation Report 2020
