UK Tech Cluster Group

Are you or someone you know a tech startup looking to raise up to £2m in equity investment and a chance to pitch to an audience of investors and enablers? 🤩 If yes, you need to know about Silicon Gorge! The competition allows up to 12 of the most exciting early-stage tech and digital startups in the South West and South Wales the opportunity to pitch to a room of investors from across the region and beyond at our Investor Showcase on June 5th 🗣️ Learn more, and apply today - https://hubs.li/Q035xVhJ0 Thanks to our awesome sponsors, TLT LLP, Walmer Group, Bristol Innovations, Link Stone Advisory & British Business Bank 💙 #Investment #Startups #Founders #InvestmentMonth

As we prepare for 2025, the UK Tech Cluster Group (UKTCG) is doubling down on our commitment to supporting regional tech ecosystems across the UK. Our priority? Ensuring that regional clusters have the resources, support, and influence to drive growth. We’re advocating for: - A Regional Ecosystem Fund to back local initiatives that fuel innovation. - Enhanced R&D Tax Credits targeted at regions outside London and the South East to level the playing field. - Simplified access to government funding for SMEs and startups to enable faster scaling and adoption of technology. Regional tech ecosystems are the key to unlocking the UK’s full economic potential. Let’s make 2025 the year we prioritise inclusive growth and innovation. #RegionalGrowth #TechPolicy #Innovation

The UKTCG Roadmap for 2025 As we look ahead to 2025, the UK Tech Cluster Group (UKTCG) remains focused on supporting thriving, inclusive, and impactful tech ecosystems across the UK. Our priorities remain the same: ensuring regional voices drive national tech policy and activity while sharing best practice and collaborating across regional ecosystems. Here’s what’s on the horizon for 2025: Launching our new website (hopefully in Jan🤞) to better showcase regional successes, share resources, and make it easier for clusters to connect and collaborate. Hosting a Cluster Conference in May—a national event designed to bring together tech organisations, policymakers, and industry leaders to share best practices and tackle shared challenges. Opening our membership more widely in January, welcoming not-for-profit or profit with purpose cluster orgs who share our vision for regional tech growth. We’re committed to ensuring that the UK’s tech future is shaped by the incredible work happening in every region—not just London and the South East. Together, we can drive innovation, strengthen local ecosystems, and create a more balanced, competitive tech sector. If you would like to learn more about our 2025 plans, we’d love to hear from you. #UKTech #RegionalGrowth #TechPolicy #Collaboration

This is a positive contribution to helping drive tech business growth across the UK. We agree with The Future Governance Forum that ‘place’ and ‘people’ matter for the success of our sector and thriving ecosystems.   We look forward to working further with national and regional partners in 2025 at a critical juncture for driving growth and opportunity in our Clusters. UK Tech Cluster Group David Dunn Ben Shorrock Tim Robinson Mark John Mel Kanarek Karen Meechan Yiannis Maos MBE Stuart Clarke MBE Nigel Lambe

Last night, the UKTCG held a drinks reception in collaboration with Startup Coalition, as a fringe event for the Labour Party Conference 2024 in Liverpool. We welcomed MP for Vale of Glamorgan Kanishka Narayan who said that the Labour Government was committed to developing the tech industry in all nations and regions of the UK, and that these were exciting times for the sector. Chair of the UKTCG Katie Gallagher OBE and MD of Manchester Digital added that as a collective of regional tech clusters we were looking forward to working closely with the Labour government and our aims and objectives aligns with what the Government wants to do for the tech industry. We also heard from David Dunn, CEO of Sunderland Software City, who outlined the ‘Four Big Ideas’ from the UKTCG report which was launched earlier this year. They are:  - We need more startups in order to create more scaleups  - Focus on the talent pipeline to create growth  - Better applied innovation to make sure the R&D we do actually makes an economic or societal difference - Digital adoption - making tech and digital an enabler, and not just a sector in its own right We’d also like to say a huge thanks to Dom Hallas and Startup Coalition for co-hosting the event for us - as well as all of our partners and friends for coming along. 

Katie Gallagher OBE, chair of the UKTCG and MD of Manchester Digital, said of the Spring Budget: "Although the Chancellor made encouraging noises about the tech sector’s importance to our regions and nations, there was little real investment to show for it in today's Budget announcement. New devolution deals and specific investments in green tech and manufacturing are encouraging, but ultimately, they are not amounts that move the needle. "It’s a relief to see the Government u-turn on angel investment rules, which would have made it even more difficult for women and other diverse founders and investors to be part of the investment ecosystem. Enabling more investment from pension funds and supporting tech businesses to list is a move in the right direction but a small part of the overall picture. "The recent EY Regional Economic Forecast makes clear that places with strong tech communities grow faster than those without. Focusing on building tech communities throughout the UK would make a real difference to the economy and people’s lives. "