Renowned since Victorian times as the home of steel production, tech leaders in Sheffield are keen to show why the city shouldn’t be overlooked as it transitions into a leading tech and digital powerhouse.
“Sheffield, historically, has been a city of makers. The steel industry was huge and I think there is a perception that Sheffield is industry-heavy,” Dean Hughes, Investment Manager at Sheffield City Council, told Prolific North.
“It used to be the case… but we’ve moved away from that now.”
Fuelled by Northern grit to pivot from its traditional roots in steel and mining, the city now boasts a burgeoning scene of tech and digital start-ups, scale-ups and international businesses.
According to investment firm CBRE’s 2022 UK Tech Cities report, Sheffield has muscled its way into the top 10 now employing over 14,750 across 1,135 tech companies.
It has led to Sheffield success stories including data activation platform WANDisco and telematics data management firm The Floow, which was snapped up by Israeli firm Otonomo Technologies in a deal worth around £52m earlier this year.
The city is also home to one of the North’s few tech ‘unicorns’, a company with a valuation of over $1bn, with ITM Power paving the way forwards for green hydrogen technologies.
“We want to do more to make it known that Sheffield has changed and that we’re continuing to grow in this space,” said Hughes. “It’s about changing perceptions.”
Often overlooked for its tech capabilities in the shadow of Manchester and Leeds, Sheffield City Council is on a mission to change this.
Hughes works alongside Marianne Hawksworth as investment managers at the council, tasked with driving investment, relocations and expansion in the region.
