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Leeds attracted most tech investment of any Northern city in 2018, according to new database

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A new national database has revealed that Leeds attracted the most tech investment of any Northern city in 2018.

Data Commons for UK Tech has been launched today by Tech Nation, the leading scale up network for entrepreneurs, and proprietary global database Dealroom.

The new database reveals that venture capital investment into UK tech companies broke new records in the first half of 2019, totalling $4.8bn (£3.8bn) in the first five months of the year.

And the figures for 2018 as a whole show that while London attracted the most investment by far ($4.8bn: £3.8bn), followed by Cambridge, Oxford and Bristol, the leading Northern city was Leeds, with $138m (£108.8m).

That was well ahead of Manchester, which was eighth on the list with $75.5m (£59.5m), with Newcastle on $39.6m (£31.2m), Sheffield on $21.6m (£17m) and Liverpool on $9.9m (£7.8m).

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Manchester’s performance contrasted markedly with 2017, when it was second on the list with $302m (£238.1m). In 2019 so far, it is again the leading Northern city with $58.8m (£46.3m), with Leeds having attracted just $2.2m (£1.7m) according to the data.

At launch, the open database contains information on 33,000 startups and 22,000 transactions, with details on thousands of investors.

Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright said: “This timely initiative from Tech Nation and Dealroom is a world-first with the potential to spark a new wave of investment in the UK’s tech startups and help create new jobs and prosperity across the country.”

George Windsor, Head of Insights at Tech Nation, said: “Robust, comprehensive data is the foundation to informed decisions and innovative solutions. This open database will help all of us to build a true picture of the UK’s fast-growing tech sector, to spot opportunities, make smart connections, reduce costs and drive innovation.”


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