Chancellor of the Treasury, Rishi Sunak has hailed London’s comeback from the pandemic a success as the City reports new figures showing it ahead of European competitors for tech.
Sunak’s goal for the financial sector of the UK was to ensure that London does not lose its status as the financial hub of Europe, post-Brexit. The City faced difficulty earlier on in the year when it saw many large finance institutions trading London for EU cities.
As the UK financial sector lost access to the EU states, Sunak announced new regulations the country couldn’t put in place while still part of the bloc. It seems, at least for the tech sector, that these changes have paid off.
London has now attracted more venture capital investments to its booming start up sector than anywhere else in Europe. The UK also has more firms valued at over $1 billion, also known as unicorn companies, than Germany and France combined.
The current numbers predict London to have a record year of investment, with venture capital investment rising to $13.5 billion in the first half of 2021. This alone beats the capital’s 2020 figures, according to data from the Digital Economy Council.
Between January and June 20 UK startups achieved unicorn status, including fashion site Depop, AI company Tractable and online Insurance broker Zego. Additionally, the UK boasts 153 “futurecorns”, companies on track to become unicorns in the near future.
In conversation with City A.M. the Chancellor stated: “This fantastic data shows the UK continues to be one of the most attractive places in the world to start, grow and invest in high growth, innovative businesses and shows in particular that our fantastic capital is bouncing back,” (City A.M. 2021).
“London has cemented itself as Europe’s leading tech hub, a sign of our capital city’s talent, innovation and resilience,” he goes on. “The tech sector will play a pivotal role in our future economy and help drive forward our recovery from the pandemic.” (City A.M., 2021).
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*O’Brien, Amy (20. September 2021). City A.M.: Chancellor hails London tech success as capital beats European competitors again. Last viewed on 20.09.2021 on https://www.cityam.com/chancellor-hails-london-tech-success-as-capital-beats-european-competitors-again/.
