×

Middlesbrough

Jobs in digital tech grew by 19.5%
in 2016-17

£188 mDigital tech business turnover (2017)
£81 kDigital tech turnover by employee (2017)
£304 mGVA
(2017)
2,331Jobs in digital tech
(2017)
7,194Digital tech jobs
(2017)

Developments

A stronghold for engineering and manufacturing, Middlesbrough also has a worldwide reputation in digital animation. Teesside University has specialist degrees in the field and the city is also home to Animex, the UK’s largest festival of animation and computer games, which attracts big names from around the world.

  • Middlesbrough’s economic ambitions were boosted when it was named one of the top 10 small cities in Europe by fDi Intelligence. Its report ‘European Cities and Regions of the Future 2018 – 2019’ posed the question, ‘with Europe in flux, which locations have investment potential for the long haul?’
  • Fourteen tech companies from across the region have recently completed DigitalCity’s SCALE programme. The three-month programme paired entrepreneurs with a dedicated business mentor to create a plan that will realise their aspirations for growth.
  • Co-working space Studio 109 recently opened its doors, in response to growing demand from digital tech and creative industries. The 6,500 square feet of renovated space includes studio offices as well as co-working and hot-desking spaces. An art gallery space and onsite cafe will soon follow. The Studio aims to bring together creative minds, fuelling innovation and growth in the city.

Dominic Lusardi

CEO, Animmersion

About Animmersion
Animmersion delivers immersive solutions to enhance the value of technical products and services. We work with product owners and their marketing colleagues to design, prototype and then deliver immersive solutions

Why Middlesbrough?
From startup to scaleup Middlesbrough has been the perfect location to grow the business, with support from Digital City, Middlesbrough Council, Teesside University and the combined authority. Add to this, the rich digital cluster and high quality graduates, and Middlesbrough is the perfect location for Animmersion.

National & International focus
Holding a number of European and Global client accounts, Animmersion has full responsibility for leading client’s next generation media thinking, presenting this to them and their affiliates across the world.

Founded: 2006

Raised: £70 k

Tom Howsam

CEO, Paid

About Paid
Paid allows small businesses to never worry about being paid on time. Paid advances funds on project completion and handles the collection of client payments. We help businesses grow, by removing friction and risk from contracts and payments.

Why Middlesbrough?
Middlesbrough has done a great job in pushing the digital economy, and true to its motto ‘We Shall Be’, it continues to grow. Paid wants to contribute to this momentum by creating an innovative fin-tech company with a world class company culture. This region has all the skills needed to achieve that.

National & International focus
Paid works with any company based in the UK currently, our ambition is to launch in similar service based economies. Investment for Paid will most likely be from London.

Founded: 2017

Raised: £200k 

Popular meetups in Middlesbrough

468 members

NE Dev

64 members

Teesside Hackspace

Community perceptions survey findings

The Tech Nation 2018 Survey was conducted between January 2018 and February 2018, in partnership with Streetbees. This year’s survey received the largest response yet from members of the UK tech community. In a total of 3,428 submissions, people told us about the opportunities and challenges their local ecosystems face, and the digital tech leaders they admire. The majority of respondents (33%) were founders and CEOs.

What Middlesbrough startups say is a strength

1Helpful tech community
2Appealing area
3Proximity of a university

What Middlesbrough startups say is a challenge

1Access to talent
2Access to funding
3Retaining talent

Who Middlesbrough startups say is influential

Dan Watson

Digital Middlesbrough Manager, Middlesbrough Council

About you
As Digital Middlesbrough Manager for Middlesbrough Council, my role is to work closely with the digital tech cluster, delivering a strategic plan that unlocks opportunities and breaks down barriers to growth. Prior to this role, I worked for seven years at DigitalCity.

Unique to Middlesbrough?
Middlesbrough is a university town with city scale aspirations. The drive and aspiration of entrepreneurs, and the affinity they have to Middlesbrough, really relates to this. The businesses are incredibly open to collaboration and supporting the next generation, whilst also welcoming those moving into the digital industries in Middlesbrough.

Strengths & Challenges
We’re currently working on plans to expand the Boho Zone, Middlesbrough’s digital and creative quarter, to enhance opportunities – further building on the community environment we’ve developed over the last nine years. In terms of barriers, working closely with DigitalCity, we’ve developed a number of task groups in Tees Valley focusing specifically on key issues.

Tech Nation 2018 is now open!

Great news. All data featured in the 2018 Tech Nation Report is available online for non-commercial use by third parties.  The data can be accessed through the data.world platform. If you use the data, please let us know. We would love to showcase your work.

If you'd like know why we are doing this, check out our blog.

Next cluster

Newcastle