Middlesbrough

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Last Updated: 4, June 2024

Middlesbrough

  Number of Digital Jobs
  Digital GVA
  Average Advertised Digital Salary
  Startup Births
  Digital Concentration
  Tech Sector Growth Potential

Notable Universities

Notable Companies

Notable Workspaces

What’s there

Built on steel, the Tees Valley is now a hotbed for digital tech innovation. It is home to countless success stories, including Visualsoft, Double Eleven and Big Bite Creative. These companies are served by world-class facilities, including The Boho Zone which has seven buildings including one live-work space, and Stockton’s Fusion Hive, which provides space for scale-ups.

Meanwhile DigitalCity, born out of Teesside University, has spent the past 13 years supporting the digital tech and creative industries.

In fact, the Teesside University has been critical to the cluster’s success. Its specialist degrees, such as Computer Gaming and Animation, produce the talent that growing businesses need.

Middlesbrough’s gaming sector is also thriving. The UK’s largest festival of animation and computer games, Animex, is hosted here. Founded in 2000, Animex takes place annually and attracts big names like Pixar and Dreamworks.

What’s new

A collaboration between Google’s Digital Garage, The Chartered Institute of Public Relations and Teesside University recently resulted in the Showcase Digital Conference in Teesside. Meanwhile, the new Innovate Tees Valley Festival is becoming a regular fixture, connecting businesses with the networks they need to innovate and grow.

What’s up next

The Launchpad on the Teesside University campus will continue to shape Middlesbrough’s success by supporting ambitious startups in and around the campus. They have recently announced a new startup programme, Launchpad FUEL, providing graduate entrepreneurs with grants of up to £10,000.

  • Iain McPherson

    Co-Founder, Big Bite Creative

    What we do

    Big Bite is a digital studio for technology-led enterprises. Our global recognition has led the team to become one of 12 WordPress.com VIP partners worldwide.

    Why Middlesbrough?

    We are able to serve a global client base from our office in Boho One, the heart of the digital tech community in Middlesbrough. We also help to organise Refresh Teesside, an event bringing together the creative community in Teesside.

  • Dean Benson

    Managing Director, Visualsoft

    What we do

    Visualsoft helps retailers to build, grow and shape their businesses online, through an integrated offering of online marketing, e-commerce solutions and dedicated support. We have grown in tandem with the industry and now occupy impressive office spaces in Newcastle, London and Manchester.

    Why Middlesbrough?

    Basing ourselves in the North East has given us access to an incredible pool of talent and allowed us to build a strong team of digital tech, online marketing, sales and business experts.

Economic stats

6,970 Number of Digital Jobs Number of digital jobs – An estimation of employment in the digital tech industries and the digital tech economy. The APS has allowed us to capture digital embeddedness, that is digital experts working in non-digital industries. It also coves freelancers and self-employed workers. (Source: ONS Annual Population Survey)

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0.31 Digital Concentration Digital concentration / Location quotient (LQ) – Indicates the geographic concentration of digital business turnover relative to the UK. A value of one indicates average digital concentration, while a value of greater than one indicates a higher concentration. (Source: BSD)

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£211 million Digital GVA GVA (Gross Value Added) – Average digital GVA between 2013-2015. GVA measures the contribution of each economic unit by estimating the value of an output (goods or services) less the value of inputs used in that output’s production process. (Source: ABS/BSD) .

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65 Startup Births Startup births – Average number of startup births 2011 – 2015 (Source: BSD)

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14% Turnover Growth
34,956 Average Advertised Digital Salary Average Advertised Digital Salary – Digital tech economy average salary (2016) in each cluster (source: Burning Glass)

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Standard of living

7.71 Life Satisfaction Life satisfaction – Life satisfaction (10 pt scale, ONS data)

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£111,004 Average House Price Average House Price – Semi Detached Average House Price (Land Registry, Dec 2016)

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3.2 Housing Affordability Ratio Housing affordability ratio – House price to salary ratio

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Cost of doing business

What local startups say is good

83% Cost of Living
79% Tech Sector Growth Potential
58% Overall Quality of Life

What local startups say is a challenge

57% Lack of Supply of Highly Skilled Workers
48% Poor Transport Infrastructure
45% Limited Opportunities to Access Finance
Download more details on survey responses for this cluster