94% of Yorkshire’s tech startups are looking for funding to grow, according to new data collected from entries to the 2024 Yorkshire Tech Climbers list – an increase of 11% YoY.
The data comes as Yorkshire continues to establish itself as an alternative tech hub to the likes of London and Manchester. A recent report by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology* found that businesses in Yorkshire and Humber saw a huge uplift of 20% in venture capital investment, reaching new highs of over £200 million of investment in 2023.
Tech Climbers Yorkshire data saw a positive attitude to gaining funding for growth, as over two thirds of respondents (69.77%) were very confident they would secure investment.
Yorkshire is also attracting startups who are flocking to the region to make their name. 27% of entrants have been trading for less than a year, and 29% for 1-2 years. A record 617 tech startups were formed in South Yorkshire in 2023**, pushing the sector past 4,500 companies for the first time. This was reflected in the Tech Climbers entry data, where more companies in Sheffield entered than in Leeds for the first time.
Tech Climbers is an annual regional list showcasing the rising stars of the region’s tech sector.
A total of 17 companies were selected for this year’s Yorkshire Tech Climbers list, with another 10 up-and-coming businesses making the ‘ones to watch’ list.
The successful businesses joined leading figures from across Yorkshire’s burgeoning tech sector at an event at Headrow House in Leeds on Tuesday evening (18th June). At the event, attendees also heard about new data from The Data City on the fastest growing sectors in Yorkshire’s tech landscape:
- Energy storage – 16.4%
- Software development – 14.5%
- Agency market – 12.4%
- SaaS – 12.1%
The data from Tech Climbers also projected around 279 new jobs in Yorkshire’s tech sector, as 66% of entrants looked to hire between 1-5 new starters in the next year.
Anna Heyes, founder of Tech Climbers and CEO at Active Profile said:
“We were blown away by Yorkshire last year, as we spotlighted the region’s ambition, and in 2024, we can really see the incredible progress made by the ecosystem here – the growth in the number of startups alone is a fantastic indicator of Yorkshire’s potential to be a global hub for tech.”
“The level of confidence coming through from this year’s entrants is really encouraging – Yorkshire knows it’s got talent and it’s not afraid to put itself out there, competing with other regions for investment. I’m delighted that Tech Climbers can play a role in showcasing that talent and the hunger for growth.”
Dr Stuart Flint, President, Scaled Insights added:
“Tech Climbers has the potential to launch companies to a greater level, regionally and nationally. As a business that’s working globally and competing for investment, to successfully secure a place on the list is just amazing.”
Dash Tabor, CEO of TUBR said:
“From a tech sector perspective, Yorkshire is a hidden gem. When you think of all the universities and all of the interesting businesses here, there’s so much value to unlock within the region. There’s no stopping Yorkshire’s tech scene.”
Sophie Copley, Co-founder, Little Journey also commented:
“The support we’ve received from Leeds and Yorkshire’s tech sector has been like a supportive hand on the shoulder to help guide you through. We’ve had training through the Help to Grow programme as part of Leeds University, and we’re supported by the Nexus community.”
“With amazing events like Yorkshire Tech Climbers and Climb24, I’d highly encourage everybody to just connect and network, because you don’t know who is in the room until you meet them. I stand by it’s not what you know, it’s not who you know, and Yorkshire is just a really connected region in that way.”
View the 2024 Yorkshire Tech Climbers report here.
Tech Climbers Yorkshire partners this year are headline partners BDO, TD SYNNEX and Ward Hadaway. Ecosystem partners are Climb24, DMC, Leeds Digital, Sheffield Technology Parks, Sheffield Hallam University, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and UK Tech Week. National partners are: TechUK, HubSpot, The Data City and InnovateHer.
