Number of tech companies in Midlands up 40 per cent, but Thames Valley and South West lag

By Nicky Godding

26 April 2021

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The number of new tech companies set up in the Midlands last year shot up 40 per cent, from 585 to 821, according to new analysis by leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM.

But numbers in the South West decreased slightly by one per cent, from 686 to 678, and surprisingly, since the Thames Valley is said to be the UK's Tech Hub, numbers dropped there too, from 1612 to 1520, down five per cent.

In total, across the UK, there were 14301, an increase of 13 per cent incorporated in 2020 according to data held by Companies House.

Commenting on the findings, Ben Bilsland, head of RSM’s technology and media team in the South West, said: "Despite the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions, it’s encouraging to see entrepreneurs seize the opportunities that the pandemic has revealed for technology to support new ways of working and digital entertainment.

"In 2020, the UK attracted $15 billion in investment and sits third internationally for tech incubations according to the latest Tech Nation report – demonstrating that the UK continues to stride ahead of other European countries, despite Brexit, and remains the first-choice tech hub after the US and China.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.