Nottingham

By

Emma J

Last Updated: 11, September 2024

Nottingham

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

What’s there

Nottingham is one of the youngest cities in the UK. More than half of its residents are under 30, many are attracted to the city for its affordable quality of life. Factor in two local universities, and you have a rich talent pool of, and for, ambitious young people.

It is one of the UK’s six Science Cities, thanks to its innovative research and businesses in the field, and it is increasingly popular with healthtech startups too.

Large companies like Capital One, Experian, TDX Group, Boots and MHR are based here and continue to grow. In the Creative Quarter digital tech startups and creative businesses are sharing knowledge and opportunities, while co-working spaces can be found at Antenna, Minor Oak and the University of Nottingham Innovation Park.

What’s new

A £2 million data centre has been opened by Space Data Centres, providing a dedicated space for companies to store their IT infrastructure.

Blenheim Chalcot has opened a new hub for digital tech businesses in the city centre – Accelerate Places. Demand for space is so high that expansion into a neighbouring building has been announced. The fund also co-sponsored Tech Nottingham’s Hack24 event for coders.

What’s up next

A campaign to raise the profile of Nottingham in the capital is currently under way. The Nottingham > London programme led by Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (MNN) aims to generate investment and attract talent.

Tech Nottingham is working hard to build a bustling community, improve student retention and remove barriers to the sector

  • Adam Bird

    CEO & Founder, Cronofy

    What we do

    Cronofy offers a fully supported SaaS Calendar API that enables enterprise application providers to build real-time, two-way calendar integrations without compromising users’ privacy

    Why Nottingham?

    Nottingham provides us with the best of both worlds. Local talent and an enviably vibrant digital tech scene is complemented by easy access to London’s world-class digital tech community.

  • Andrew Bullock

    CTO & Founder, MyUniDays

    What we do

    UNiDAYS is the world’s leading Student Affinity Network, connecting a verified global student audience with relevant brands and services across every consumer touchpoint and creating lifetime loyalties.

    Why Nottingham?

    Nottingham is a vibrant and creative city with a rich talent pool and strong cultural identity. UNiDAYS loves being part of the booming digital tech scene here and we’re proud to call it home.

Economic stats

19,741 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)

0.77 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)

£835 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) .

15% High Growth Firms High growth businesses – Proportion of digital tech businesses classified as high growth. Refers to businesses with 10 or more employees that are in the top 10% of all companies in terms of growth. (Source BSD, 2015).

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

35% Turnover Growth
44,032 Average Advertised Digital Salary Average Advertised Digital Salary – Digital tech economy average salary (2016) in each cluster (source: Burning Glass)

Standard of living

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

£136,246 Average House Price Average House Price – Semi Detached Average House Price (Land Registry, Dec 2016)

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

Cost of doing business

19.5 Commercial Rent Per Annum (£ sq/ft) Commercial Rent Per Annum (£ sq/ft) – Prime office rents (JLL< 2016)

What local startups say is good

89% Overall Quality of Life
81% Tech Sector Growth Potential
68% Cost of Living

What local startups say is a challenge

59% Lack of Supply of Highly Skilled Workers
30% Regulation
25% Retention of Skilled Workers
Download more details on survey responses for this cluster