UK's stock of IT companies surges

The UK’s stock of IT companies has surpassed the solid growth rate it notched up a year ago, partly thanks to regional tech clusters maturing, an accountant to the sector calculates.

Citing official data last month, Nixon Williams found 154,765 ‘active’ IT firms, representing a 7.9% leap on December 2014, when such firms were already up 7.4% to 143, 450.

Reflecting on the new annual growth rate for the UK’s IT companies (7.9%), the accountant said it represented the highest level of IT company creation since before the recession started.

At its worse, that rate went into the red – notably between 2008 and 2009 when the number of ‘active’ IT companies fell by 0.3%, returning less than 123,000 of such firms.

London has led the recovery – as 2014’s data showed - but momentum is now with regional tech clusters. These have also helped with the UK’s 24,000 new IT jobs (in the past year).

“[Regional IT clusters] are developing their own key strengths, as like-minded entrepreneurs conglomerate and feed off each other,” said Nixon Williams manager Daniel Knowles.

After pointing to the high cost of staff and space in London, he added: “Manchester, for example, is carving out a niche in areas such as big-data analytics and cyber security.”