Some great news came out today, which makes a change from all the doom and gloom the media is churning out right now (making things seem much worse than they actually are, wonder why? Did someone say Brexit?)
The annual State of European Technology report from Atomico was released, which has examined the health of the private and public European technology sector since 2015. This report covering 2022 showed that the UK and Ireland are home to most number of tech Unicorns (firms valued at over $1 billion) at 118. This is more than Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which come second and have a ‘combined’ number of 77. Yes that is right, combined number of 77.
UK technology companies experienced a fall in investment from $36 billion in 2021 to $27.9 billion in 2022 (which is to be expected considering the state of the world economy with high inflation, energy crisis and war in Ukraine). However this is three times more than second place Germany on $10.8 billion. Also London remained the most attractive European hub for capital with $19.2 billion of finance investment, more than twice as much as second place Paris at $9.9 billion.
This is great news and shows that the UK is a true technology superpower, and the EU simply cannot compete with us in this sphere. Not many people know that there are only 3 countries with a tech sector worth over a trillion dollars, the US, China and the UK, which is an amazing achievement. We are easily the best performing country in Europe when it comes to technology and finance. We just need a decent government with a proper growth strategy, which builds the correct business environment with decent regulations, competitive taxes, skilled workforce and the right infrastructure to ensure this remains the case and we fulfil our true potential.
So the next time you read that the UK is the sick man in Europe because of Brexit, just remember the facts as shown in this report today.
You can find out more about the Atomico State of European Tech report at their website here
