The UK is the digital capital of Europe as a new tech business is formed every hour in London and the Country attracted in 2016 investments worth £6.8 billion, which is 50 percent higher than any other European country, Tech Nation 2017 reveals.
Nevertheless, nearly 70 percent of total UK digital tech investment in 2016 was in regional clusters beyond London. In fact, tech businesses in these clusters raised more than £4.6 billion in funding.
In particular, six are the clusters which alone attracted nearly £700 million investment between them in 2016:
1. Edinburgh, £159 million
2. Cambridge, £153 million
3. Bristol & Bath, £109 million
4. Oxford, £106 million
5. Manchester, £78 million
6. Sheffield, £61 million
According to the report, two are the key ingredients for such a success, namely: universities and interpersonal networking.
With regard to the former, the report points out that
Universities are essential building blocks of digital ecosystems. They generate skills and innovation while attracting investment and talent.
In this respect, for instance, the UK is home to 8 of Europe’s top 20 universities.
Regarding the latter, interpersonal networking is critical to the growth and success of digital business and in 2016 London hosted 22,000 tech related Meetup events, nearly three times as many as Berlin, Amsterdam or Paris.
Find out more here.
Oliver* 
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