agenda
759 also very signifi cantly up over the last two years. At more than 90,000, associated jobs were up 96 per cent over two years. The quality and business impact of our assistance is independently evaluated as high. So we are doing something right. This is not an accident: we have been focusing on quality and high value. Within that we recognise that small-scale projects with the right characteristics can bring many jobs and much value over time.” The Government has indicated it wants more effort put into attracting technology-based businesses in sectors such as IT, software and life sciences. And it has chosen the area of East London around Shoreditch and the 2012 Olympics site to create the UK’s own Silicon Valley, where start-ups can fl ourish and, hopefully, grow into the next generation of global businesses. Prime Minister David Cameron has given his personal backing to fostering this ‘Tech City’ within the capital. UK Trade & Investment has set up its own taskforce and will put at least 15m of effort into helping technology companies. Facebook has already pledged to locate part of its Developer Garage
programme there, bringing together creative talent and entrepreneurs. Global IT giant Intel is establishing a research laboratory focusing on computing and energy effi ciency and Google is building an Innovation Hub providing creative space for researchers to meet developers and academics. Meanwhile, Cisco is planning its own innovation centre at the Olympic Park. It will join UK companies such as BT, while Imperial College and University College London are both nearby and the University of Cambridge, with its cluster of high-tech businesses, is only an hour away.
UNIQUE BLEND Silicon Valley Bank, used to serving the technology ecosystem of America’s West Coast, recently decided to offer full-service banking in the UK too, with its head, Phil Cox, saying: “The decision to expand in the UK was easy. All the ingredients are here: top-quality universities with world- renowned academic research; seed, angel, venture capital and private equity investors; genuine government support and commitment to science-based businesses; all the capital markets access you will ever need here in London, the
fi nancial capital of the world; and most of all, entrepreneurs.” Already boasting more international headquarters than any other country in Europe, the UK is keen for more overseas companies to establish HQ operations here. Some 277 came in 2009/2010, creating or safeguarding more than 7,000 jobs. “The UK is by far Europe’s leader at getting headquarters,” states Levi. “HQs are not necessarily the deciding factor in whether a project is high value. But having the regional or global HQ in the UK can be of considerable benefi t. It highlights to other people just how attractive the UK is. And it places the UK in pole position when a company is making investment decisions for the future”. Reality Digital, a California-based digital media company, chose the UK for its EMEA headquarters. Divisional head Rob Proctor says: “The majority of multinational marketing agencies have their European operations focused in London: we couldn’t do our European deals elsewhere. Our UK offi ce now generates almost as much revenue as our US headquarters. Since setting up, we have secured clients in France, Germany and the Middle East.”
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