UK is the leading European tech ecosystem as investors pile in
While there has been much anxiety over the competitive position of the City this year – with Amsterdam overtaking London as Europe’s biggest centre for share trading and the value of the French stock market overtaking that of the UK – fresh data suggests the UK’s tech sector continues to enjoy a significant lead over its European counterparts.
Figures prepared by the data and intelligence platform Dealroom for the Digital Economy Council suggest that fast-growing UK tech companies raised £24bn this year – more than their counterparts in France and Germany combined.
It takes the total raised by UK tech companies during the last five years to £97bn.
The numbers are all the more striking because, for much of the year, capital has become harder to come by as interest rates have risen and investors around the world have become more sceptical about the tech sector.
Dealroom’s figures suggest that the UK’s tech industry now enjoys a value of $1trn – making it only the third country, after the United States and China, to achieve this milestone and confirming it as the leading European tech ecosystem.
Germany’s tech sector is now valued at $467.2bn while that of France is worth $307.5bn.
Not only is the UK’s tech sector attracting more venture capital than its European counterparts, according to the figures, it is also creating more value for investors.
The figures suggest that, since the beginning of the century, the UK has created 144 ‘unicorns’ – start-ups that have gone on to achieve a valuation of more than $1bn – and 237 so-called ‘futurecorns’, companies which are valued at north of $250m and which are deemed to be on track to achieve unicorn status.
This is up from 116 unicorns and 204 futurecorns this time last year.
Paul Scully, the digital minister, said: “UK tech has remained resilient in the face of global challenges and we have ended the year as one of the world’s leading destinations for digital businesses.
Paul Scully says the report’s figures underline the importance of government investment in the tech sphere
“This is good news and reflects our pro-innovation approach to tech regulation, continuing support for start-ups and ambition to boost people’s digital skills.”
The figures underline the UK’s growing attraction to international venture capital firms.
This year has seen some of the biggest US tech investors, including General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed – all of which opened offices in the UK last year – bulk up their presence by taking on more staff.
They have been joined in the UK this year by New Enterprise Associates, the 45-year-old US venture capital firm that has backed the likes of TikTok owner ByteDance and by Earlybird, the Berlin-based venture capital firm.
UK-based funds have raised £9.2bn this year – just ahead of the £9bn they raised in 2021 – with which to back fast-growing companies and start-ups.
Chris Bischoff, managing director at General Catalyst, said: “We established a presence in London as we believed the UK is a stand-out ecosystem globally. Our experience over the last 18 months has enhanced our appreciation for this remarkable ecosystem, enabling us to find and support early stage companies that are working toward accelerating change in their industries.
“As importantly, our values of responsible innovation and radical collaboration are perfectly in tune with the UK’s approach to innovation.”
The Dealroom figures also suggest that tech innovation is being spread across the UK.
The university city of Cambridge is among those home to at least two tech unicorns. Pic: Cambridge University Library
There are now eight cities – Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Oxford – which are home to two or more unicorns.
Some of these are seen as now challenging the dominance of leading US tech ecosystems in specific disciplines: Cambridge was recently named as the world’s third most important science hub behind only the Bay Area of San Francisco and Boston in Massachusetts. Oxford was fifth on the list.
The University of Cambridge also recently topped the global rankings for producing the highest number of successful tech founders, with more than 500 of its alumni having raised at least $10m in funding.
The universities of Oxford, Bristol, Nottingham and London all featured in the top 20 globally alongside leading US establishments such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Amid a tight labour market, with more than three million people now working in UK tech, the sector is increasingly taking on people at entry level. The job search engine Adzuna reports that, in November, there were more than 15,000 entry-level tech roles – up from 6,596 in November last year.
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This has led to the emergence of a number of so-called ‘edtech’ start-ups dedicated to equipping people with skills, such as coding and cyber security, needed to build a successful career in tech. They include Multiverse, the UK’s first edtech unicorn, which was founded by Euan Blair, son of Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister.
Some of these, such as Code First Girls, are specifically aimed at increasing the number of women working in the tech sector.
Anna Brailsford, the chief executive of Code First Girls, said: “From using AI to tackle healthcare inequality to designing and building space missions, every day there are incredible tech businesses being launched and scaled in the UK.
“Yet too few women have the opportunity to work for these impactful start-ups because they have not previously been given the encouragement to look at a career in tech or learn key skills.
“We’re aiming to train 26,000 women in the UK over the next five years and place them in tech roles so they can use their knowledge and expertise to change this industry for the better.”
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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