A new report, published by Whitecap Consulting in partnership with Tech South West, forecasts the South West of England’s tech sector is set to grow to almost £20bn gross value added (GVA) a year by 2026, creating over 125,000 new jobs.

The report maps out the current tech activity taking place within the South West, and highlights key data points across the region in a standard format that includes the tech workforce, number of tech firms, and GVA across seven major sub-regions of the South West. As part of the research, key stakeholders of key hotspots and technical hubs were interviewed, adding expert insights and helping showcase key points of interest.

The report highlights the South West as the second largest tech economy by capita in the UK excluding London and South East, worth £11.0bn, with over 160,000 and 17,500 tech workers and businesses, respectively. Furthermore, this is estimated to grow by 11.8% annually due to the wide range of prominent and growing sub-sectors highlighted on the map below.

The four key themes identified in the report are:

  • The South West has a large and diverse tech sector with several world-leading and world-class specialisms and facilities.
  • Funding for the tech sector across the South West is growing, providing the potential to create significant opportunities for enhanced economic growth, innovation, research, and development.
  • Growth will be further accelerated with a larger and more diverse talent pool within the region, alongside a clear strategy to grow, attract and retain more people to the sector.
  • There are opportunities to create a more cohesive, better performing and innovative ecosystem.
The report provides clear recommendations against each of these four key themes as to how the region can look to develop and capitalise on these sectors to generate jobs and contribute to the local economy.

Download the report via the links at the top of this page.

Read the launch announcement here.