Tech Nation report praises North East tech sector

The North East’s tech scene has been hailed as an economic success in a report that identifies tech salaries, growing companies and more than 30,000 high-skilled jobs.

The Tech Nation report assessed technology sectors in 30 towns and cities and singles out Newcastle and Sunderland for praise.

It values Newcastle technology cluster as more than £1bn, with 90% of those working in it rating their quality of life as good and 76% optimistic that their companies will grow.

The report says the average advertised salary in digital technology jobs in Newcastle last year was £51,213, the fourth highest in the country.

Newcastle also had one of the highest proportions of high growth digital companies, at 22%, while Sunderland’s technology sector had more than doubled in size in the last five years, the third highest growth rate.

Commenting on the Newcastle technology sector, the report says: “The presence of some of the UK’s biggest digital tech businesses, such as Sage, has long attracted innovative startups to the area.

“These are stimulated by support networks such as Dynamo North East and the Digital Union, by co-working spaces such as Campus North and Hoults Yard, and by access to finance from local investors, including Northstar Ventures, which has more than £100m under management.

“Newcastle is producing companies with significant staying power. Last year, True Potential became the only UK fintech firm to make it into the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 three years in a row, while Performance Horizon raised $15.4m in Series C funding.

“Newcastle and Northumbria Universities continue to support and strengthen the cluster. They have long acted as a strong talent pool for regional players, such as French gaming giant Ubisoft.

Newcastle’s Science Central, a joint venture between the university and the city council, is a £350m investment intended to house a series of National Innovation Centres.”

In a separate report, Tech North highlights how three of the region’s top tech investors – Northstar Ventures, Ignite and Rivers Capital – are based in Newcastle, with the availability of capital for growing firms meaning many no longer feel the need to go to London to achieve their ambitions.

In the report, Alasdair Greig of Northstar Ventures says: “Not only have we seen a significant increase in the demand for venture capital from regional entrepreneurs, but more importantly, there has been a significant rise in the quality and level of ambition of businesses being built here.

“Founders now know that they don’t need to relate their business to the US or to London in order to access finance and support from experienced investors, or to attract the scale-up talen they need to grow.”

Tech North said the increasing amount of funding being made available to technology companies in the North is a sign of the sector’s success, but that more needs to be done to help tech businesses in the region achieve their full potential.