Edinburgh singled out as UK's next big technology hub

Edinburgh has more potential than any other location across the UK to be a future technology hub, according to new research.

BNP Paribas Real Estate said its locational analysis tool had determined that the Scottish capital has the potential to rival established tech hot-spots such as Cambridge and Manchester.

Housing affordability, a strong cultural offer and quality of life were established as the top metrics when looking beyond investment and business growth – of which Edinburgh scored the highest followed by Bristol and Glasgow in second and third places respectively.

With a 31 per cent growth in tech employment since 2018 and a start-up and scale-up ecosystem in excess of 500 companies, Edinburgh is well-placed to continue attracting tech talent, the research noted.

BNP Paribas Real Estate said its locational analysis tool had determined that Edinburgh has the potential to rival established tech hot-spots such as Cambridge and Manchester.

About 30 per cent of roles advertised in the city in 2020 were tech-related, the highest proportion in the UK.

Charlie Tattersall, senior research analyst at BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: “The UK is experiencing a tech boom with areas like Cambridge benefitting from huge amounts of venture capital investment.

“In light of the government’s efforts to level up the regions, Edinburgh has all the fundamentals to be the next tech hub and attract significant venture capital investment, jobs, and economic growth”.

Last month, Edinburgh was identified as the UK’s top city for innovation outside of London.

The city’s innovation infrastructure was the best of the 39 major UK cities analysed by global property consultancy Knight Frank. Its UK Cities report found that Edinburgh was buoyed by the research outputs, spin-out formation and patent generations at its universities.

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