Brighton is once again at the forefront of the UK’s growing digital economy according to a new report.
The first TechNation report, published this week, puts Brighton in the top three or four of a range of different indicators of digital success.
There was a 91% increase in digital companies incorporated in the city from 2010-13, the fourth highest rise in the country after Bournemouth, Liverpool and Inner London.
The city’s tech industry now employs 7,458 people, many in its key sectors of advertising and marketing, software development and games development and publishing.
And at 3.3x the national average, Brighton and Hove has the highest density of digital companies in the country.
The report uses the city as an example of where companies are attracted to somewhere because of its reputation.
It says: “The Brighton cluster’s core asset is a broad access to talent, with 80% of businesses saying that the availability of skilled workers is a core impetus for locating there.
“Local university undergraduate courses are key to building skills for 48% of companies in the region. As a reaction to a perceived lack of access to funding, there is also a strong base of service businesses which do not require external finance to grow.”
But it adds: “Brighton’s high concentration of digital companies and lifestyle companies. However, this growth can put a considerable load on the city’s infrastructure in terms of property and broadband. ”
It notes the range of networking events and larger conferences such as the Brighton Digital Festival, networks like Wired Sussex and The Farm, as well as co-working spaces such as The Skiff in the North Laine, the biggest such space south of London.
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