Yorkshire tech start-ups rise by 9 per cent in 2018

Chris Etherington - it's fantastic to see that tech start-ups have continued their upward trajectory.

THE number of new tech companies being set up in Yorkshire and the Humber rose by 9 per cent in 2018 according to new analysis by RSM.

In total, there were 462 software development and programming businesses incorporated in 2018 according to data held by Companies House, a 9 per cent increase on the 424 companies set up in the previous year.

The UK data revealed growth in tech company incorporations across every region in the UK with the exception of Scotland where the number of tech start-ups dipped slightly by 4 per cent and in the North East where the numbers remained flat.

Commenting on the figures, Chris Etherington, RSM’s head of technology, media and telecoms in Yorkshire and the Humber said: ‘Given the current economic uncertainty, it's fantastic to see that Yorkshire tech start-ups have continued their upward trajectory. This year’s figures highlight another increase in tech businesses starting up, showing that entrepreneurs are continuing to innovate and choose the Yorkshire and Humber region as the home to grow their business.

‘A key barrier to the success of these start-ups locally continues to be finding seed capital funding and mentors to help them scale up but there is a real appetite in the local tech community to make that easier than it has been in the past; and we are seeing increased interest from venture capital, private equity and funders to commit funds to the right projects.

‘A combination of a thriving tech ecosystem and increased understanding of tax incentives such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme, R&D tax credits, video games tax relief and the Patent Box regime are all playing their part in helping to fuel this growth.’

'The challenge for start-ups, particularly in the tech space is to develop at speed and to scale-up fast. There can be a high rate of failures as projects can often get overtaken by new technological innovations or better resourced competitors. But get the formula right, find the right backers and success can be very lucrative.'

In order to support the growth ambitions of successful UK tech-based scale-ups, RSM has recently announced its partnership with Upscale 4.0 – a six-month accelerator programme delivered by Tech Nation. RSM will work with Tech Nation to offer its latest cohort of 30 companies access to its expertise and experience in a bid to assist the next phase of their growth ambitions.