Leeds rises in rankings as a major UK tech-sector destination

Leeds has risen four places as a major UK tech sector destination in a rankings list, compiled by global real estate advisor CBRE. The ‘Tech Cities’ top 25 rankings, excluding London, shows Leeds has moved up from tenth to 6th as a major destination for the technology industry.

All markets analysed were scored and ranked according to a wide range of locational pull factors for tech businesses, such as level of education, concentrations of tech businesses and employment, cost of living, cost of office space and wage levels.

The report noted that the city offers great choice and a strong quality of life when it comes to urban lifestyles or rural environments and accommodates a number of creative tech clusters.

Leeds also benefits from good transport links, a young, highly educated talent pool and strong university research ratings, the report said. All of which compile to create an excellent city for digital conferences or events.

Claire Heap, Head of ConferenceLeeds, said: “We are really pleased to see Leeds get the recognition it deserves as a major digital hub and tech destination for the UK with it’s new ranking.

We know that we have an excellent range of digital and technology companies here, now numbering over 3,500, and a number of digital hubs such as the Test Space Hub, Digital Hub, Leeds Innovation Centre, Creative Industries Hub and Sky Technology Hub. Not only this, but we have almost 39,000 graduates annually in the city, which will only continue to feed into our talent pool and help to build Leeds’ prowess as a digital city.

We are already home to a series of excellent events in this area – most notably the Leeds Digital Festival – and we are excited to continue to watch Leeds rise in this space over the next few years.”