London number one as it beats Paris and Berlin to top Europe’s tech hotspots
London is leading the way among cities in Europe for technology companies, with the booming sector set to outperform other industries over the next four years despite the vote to leave the European Union, according to a new ranking.
The capital beat Paris and Berlin into second and third places respectively, while the broader Thames Valley area also ranks in the top 20 technology clusters in Europe, according to research by property company CBRE.
Employment in technology across Europe rose by nine per cent from 2010 to 2015 – 3.5 percentage points faster than office-based employment more broadly – and it is expected to continue to outperform in the next five years.
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The research, based on employment and property data, adds to other evidence of London’s growing technology sector, with 430,000 employees. The sector is dominated by web services and software development.
The city is already well known as a global hub for financial technology – fintech – with a high concentration of banks and services companies already present.
London also has added cultural advantages to draw companies from Apple, who recently leased space in the Battersea Power Station development, to start-ups, according to the report.
“Its location, political and legal structure, as well as its wide range of social and cultural attractions, has resulted in tech companies from around the world choosing London, and making it one of the most exciting places in the world for tech and young tech talent,” said Simon Calvert, a director at CBRE.