Greater Birmingham TECH brochure 2017

GREATER BIRMINGHAM 

T E C H, D I G I T A L A N D C R E A T I V E 

MAKING IT HAPPEN 

1

L O C A T I O N, V A L U E, Y O U N G, D I V E R S E 

Birmingham is located in the centre of the UK with 

connections to all major cities across Europe and the 

rest of the world, and provides exceptional technological 

infrastructure at an affordable cost, supported by a highly 

skilled talent pool and leading national universities. This 

winning combination creates a perfect ecosystem for tech 

innovators, start-ups, scale-ups and creatives. 

The presence of major companies and a young, diverse 

population, means that Birmingham is already recognised 

as a leading tech hub for progressive thinkers and a rich 

entrepreneurial environment. Acclaimed as number one 

in the UK for start-ups for four years running, the city 

offers all the benefits of an international location without 

the high costs that can quickly drain resources. The city 

boasts a strong support system providing advice and 

guidance for all matters property, business, introductions, 

networking, recruitment, training, PR, marketing and 

funding-related opportunities. 

The city of Birmingham has one of the most culturally 

diverse and highly skilled tech workforces in the UK 

with 40,000 employees in the sector, and 20 local 

universities, within one hour of Birmingham, three of 

which are world-renowned and located right at the 

city’s core. Within the universities there are over 100 

tech and digital Business Centres of Excellence, with 

more than 110,000 graduates each year. 

As a destination, Greater Birmingham is an 

international city that competes highly with all other 

major European cities. Commercial property is 

less expensive than any other leading UK city, yet 

the quality of life and infrastructure is world class. 

The region is going through an unprecedented 

period of transformation, and is leading growth and 

development trends in the UK. With record levels of 

infrastructure investment, international recognition 

and countless opportunities for companies to thrive in 

the region, there has never been a better time to be 

based in Greater Birmingham. 

Nick Holzherr, Whisk 

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"As a place to start a 

tech company, 

Birmingham is brilliant. 

The most important reason 

for us is that we've been 

able to find top talent, 

both experienced software 

engineers and graduates, 

from Birmingham's many 

universities"

M A K E I T B I R M I N G H A M 

Businesses establishing a base in Greater Birmingham will 

benefit from: 

• One of the leading tech and digital clusters in the UK, which 

hosts start-ups, scale-ups and international tech giants 

• Two of Europe’s largest B2B tech businesses, (Advanced and SCC) 

are based in the city centre, and employ more than 3,000 staff 

between them 

• A competitive, internationally recognised and deep talent pool. 

Tech companies now relocate to Birmingham from other 

established key clusters, such as London and Shanghai, based 

on the strength and availability of the talent 

THE CITY OF 

BIRMINGHAM HAS THE 

LARGEST ECONOMY OF ANY 

CITY OUTSIDE LONDON 

The second highest rate of 

economic growth of any core city 

in the UK over the last five years 

Solihull had the highest growth 

of any area in the UK in 

2014-2015 (8.2%) 

• The largest number of tech start-up accelerator and incubator 

hubs outside of London with the number of programmes having 

doubled in recent years, according to Telefonica’s ‘Rise of the UK 

Accelerator System’ report 

• The youngest and most diverse population of any major city in 

Europe, with 40% being under the age of 25, and comprising 

over 180 different nationalities 

• A rich tech and digital cross-fertilisation ecosystem including: SaaS, 

B2B, app development, healthcare & MedTech, FinTech, games, 

serious gaming, advanced engineering technology, auto-tech, transport 

tech and driverless vehicles 

• Connections to more of the world for less investment and lower tech 

talent costs than London and other UK cities 

• Excellent talent retention rates. Employees often stay in Birmingham 

due to higher quality of life. More disposable income leads to a higher 

level of staff retention than the national average 

• The largest European market for high-end consumer 

electronic products. 

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invest@marketingbirmingham.com +44 (0)121 202 5022 www.businessbirmingham.com business_bham

There are 

4,000 students 

studying media & 

mass communication, 

IT, film, TV, media 

and animation studies 

C H O O S E G R E A T E R B I R M I N G H A M 

F O R D I G I T A L & C R E A T I V E S E R V I C E S 

Greater Birmingham’s reputation 

as a tech hub is growing. The city 

is already home to 7,500 tech firms 

employing over 40,000 people, with 

tech firms boosting the economy by 

£2.3 billion every year. 

With creativity at the heart of the 

region, Birmingham contains more 

digital and creative companies than 

any regional city in the UK. The 

creative hubs surrounding Digbeth 

and the Jewellery Quarter have 

developed into the perfect ecosystem 

allowing digital and creative firms, 

studios, and supporting service 

companies to prosper. Birmingham 

hosts a number of Centres of 

Excellence in the film and animation 

industry, including the innovative 

Creative Skillset Media Academy 

and the Visual Communication 

Research Group. 

More leading businesses are choosing 

Birmingham as their innovation 

centre. The BBC Guerrilla Unit is 

located in Fazeley Studios, Digbeth - 

the BBC’s innovation team responsible 

for owning and defining the direction 

for projects such as iPlayer and BB3’s 

digital only service. 

Leading online retail brand ASOS 

demonstrates the region’s growing 

influence within digital media and 

e-commerce. By opening a new office 

in the Custard Factory in Digbeth 

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in 2013, the firm took advantage of 

several high growth clusters in the area 

that provide talent, support and an ideal 

environment for both tech start-ups 

and digital arms of larger corporations. 

John Lewis, one of the UK’s 

leading retailers has also chosen 

Birmingham as its home for their 

innovation lab. 

The University of Birmingham has 

been named the ‘leading light’ in the 

digital sub-sector of serious games 

pertaining to defence and healthcare, 

and ranked number one University 

for Computer Science in 2014 by The 

Guardian Newspaper in the UK.

A L E A D I N G C I T Y F O R I N N O V A T I O N I N T E C H 

The breadth of creative talent and 

affordable, dynamic locations in 

the region have led to some of the 

country’s leading software firms 

choosing Birmingham, sitting 

alongside a strong pedigree of local, 

highly innovative companies, national 

heavyweights, R&D departments, 

start-ups and digital SME’s too. 

A large number of Centres of 

Excellence can also be found 

within the region, including the 

Digital Image Centre of Excellence 

and the CRNI (Collaborative 

Research Network in Imaging and 

Visualisation) both based at the 

University of Birmingham. 

The University of Birmingham is 

instrumental in developing forward 

thinking, new initiatives and has 

established several centres for 

support. Its School of Computer 

Science is an official Academic 

Centre of Excellence in Cyber 

Security Research (ACE-CSR) 

authorised by the UK government. 

This is a national scheme that 

is supported jointly by GCHQ 

(Government Communications 

Headquarters), RCUK (Research 

Councils’ Global Uncertainties 

Programme) and BEIS (Department 

for Business Energy and Industrial 

Strategy). Additionally, its Human 

Interface Technologies (HIT) team is a 

pioneer in the development, evaluation 

and uptake of virtual reality and 

telepresence/ telerobotic technologies. 

The university is also noted for 

establishing the Institute for Digital 

Experience and Applications, Visual 

Communication Research Group and 

Centre for Disruptive Media. 

Within less than one hour of the city, 

45,000 students are studying tech, 

digital media or creative subjects 

each year. 

Greater Birmingham 

BENEFIT FROM AN EXPANDING MEDIA COMMUNITY 

Birmingham hosts several Centres of Excellence within the film and 

animation industry including the Creative Skillset Media Academy and the 

Visual Communication Research Group. Both are located at Birmingham City 

University, which houses four professional standard TV studios, and the largest 

fixed standing green screen studio in the whole of Europe. Leading media 

brands located in the city include a variety of specialists including Maverick TV, 

Comux, Product Resource Group (PRG), and Yamination, and several media 

innovation specialists within fields such as VR, AR, and MR. 

Contains 

700 

media and broadcast 

companies 

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C A S E S T U D I E S 

This global online retailer set up an office in Birmingham’s Custard Factory, Digbeth 

in 2013. ASOS recruited 50 highly-skilled developers, with roles focused on creating 

new company payment systems tailored to the needs of consumers in growth 

markets, including France and Germany. Based in one of Birmingham’s leading tech 

and creative centres, ASOS cited a 50 per cent lower cost for tech talent compared to 

London, this being one of their main reasons for locating in Birmingham. 

The decision to move to Birmingham was the obvious next step for Advanced: “We 

are passionate about identifying dynamic, high performing and motivated individuals 

who are invaluable to our future expansion and who will make a major contribution 

to our company culture. Birmingham is the clear choice given it has the UK’s largest 

regional urban economy and is the most popular destination outside the South East 

for mass millennial migration.” Following its acquisition by Vista Equity Partners in 

2015, Advanced has undergone significant transformation and investment, creating 

a platform for further growth. The company’s move to Birmingham demonstrates 

the strength of the city’s offer for major British brands looking to move to the region. 

Being an international company, connectivity is essential to Lombard Risk. Their 

position in Birmingham offers them exceptional links to both their national and 

overseas clients, allowing them to make the most of the integrated rail networks and 

airport facilities in the region. Mike Payne, Lombard Risk’s Chief Technology Officer, 

highlighted Birmingham’s strength in innovation as another key factor that motivated 

the move to the Midlands. He added: “Lombard Risk aims to be the employer of choice 

in Birmingham developing first class software demanded by our clients. Birmingham 

is a fantastic city with world class universities nearby and a rich pool of talented 

technologists, it was an obvious place for us to invest in.”

Ben Jackson, Chief Executive of Oxygen Finance, said “The move from London to 

Birmingham was a strategic decision designed to continue the company’s success. As 

well as the city’s connectivity, its affordability and ability to attract a high calibre of talent 

were cited as reasons for the Midlands move. Oxygen looks to employ the best and 

brightest graduates from across the region, and already has 35 people working at its 

Birmingham office. According to Jackson, Birmingham’s expertise in tech has “fed their 

ability to grow”, giving them the opportunity and resources to develop their business. 

NetWatch Global is the largest open-source investigation company in the UK, and last 

year relocated to Birmingham. Claimant profiling is the most popular type of profiling 

carried out by NetWatch, which uses traditional techniques such as surveillance to 

investigate insurance claims. The company has expertise in online investigations and 

social media intelligence. NetWatch has created a number of software tools designed 

for bespoke location based social media investigation. The firm has also developed 

best practice methods of searching and finding results from social media. As part of 

their expansion plans, NetWatch moved from Worcester to join Birmingham’s worldleading 

digital community in Digbeth in March 2016. 

Vanti is an audio-visual, IT systems and Managed Services integrator, which creates 

tailor-made technology to help grow their client’s business, ensure it is more 

productive, and save businesses money. Recent work for Vanti has included projects 

for Canary Wharf, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and UBM. The company was 

started by Raj Patel in London in 2000. Vanti located to an office in Birmingham in 

recent years to support their work in Solihull, moving into the Innovation Birmingham 

Campus at Faraday Wharf. The company has experienced considerable growth over 

the past few years. They are one of 15 early-stage companies receiving support from 

Innovation Birmingham's Entrepreneurs for the Future (e4f) Inspire programme, which 

aims to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurial tech companies.

B I R M I N G H A M O F F E R S A B R I G H T F U T U R E 

There has been significant investment in Birmingham’s infrastructure through the development of several city based 

tech clusters including: 

INNOVATION 

BIRMINGHAM CAMPUS 

Innovation Birmingham Campus 

(IBC) is one of the UK’s largest, 

leading tech campuses and the 

fastest growing in the country. IBC 

is the base for Birmingham’s tech 

community - a place for innovators, 

entrepreneurs and investors looking 

to develop or fund tech start-ups 

with high-growth potential. Campus 

facilities include the Entrepreneurs 

for the Future (e4f) multi-occupancy 

start-up centre with hot-desking 

facilities and a wide range of flexible 

office units, enabling a flexible and 

collaborative environment to fasttrack 

the growth and development of 

tech start-ups. 

Start-ups in the e4f incubator 

benefit from an initial six months’ 

free access to a dynamic coworking 

centre, with full tech 

support and meeting facilities. 

Medium-sized enterprises and large 

corporates benefit from a platform for 

new commercial opportunities with the 

tech entrepreneurs and businesses 

based at the Campus, all of which 

provide a unique opportunity to learn, 

collaborate and drive forward latest 

industry trends and developments 

within all the companies. 

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LONGBRIDGE 

The £1 billion Longbridge 

regeneration scheme is the area’s 

largest mixed-use scheme outside 

Birmingham city centre and one 

of the largest urban regeneration 

programmes in the UK. 

At the heart of Longbridge is the 

£100 million Tech Park, a new hub 

for progressive technologies and 

services, and home to over 60 local, 

national and international businesses. 

A comprehensive refurbishment 

of the Park’s Innovation Centre 

houses several data heavy operators 

benefiting from broadband 

connections as fast as 1GB per 

second or higher. 

Longbridge West, the site’s next 

phase, will also provide an ideal 

environment for fast growing, hightech 

manufacturing companies. 

Properties ranging from 50,000 sq ft 

to 500,000 sq ft can be tailor-made 

to meet customer requirements. 

SILICON CANAL 

Birmingham’s voice of the tech and 

digital community, Silicon Canal is 

a non-profit organisation run and 

owned by the tech community. 

9 

It promotes, connects, showcases 

and supports the digital technology 

community in the city and is the 

‘go to’ organisation for designers, 

developers and marketers. In 

addition, it also hosts an array of 

tech meet-ups, events and its own 

highly prestigious and well attended 

awards event. 

Silicon Canal has over 100 

‘ambassadors’, all of whom offer 

free advice and support to tech 

companies within the city. 

THE CUSTARD FACTORY 

The Custard Factory in Birmingham 

is one of the largest hubs for digital 

media and creative businesses in 

the region. The urban estate has 

continually expanded since its 

opening and is now home to around 

400 businesses. 

FAZELEY STUDIOS 

Fazeley Studios comprises 45 

elegant and fashionable studio offices 

for 5 – 200 person businesses, ideal 

for the digital and creative sectors. 

The luxurious, elegant studios are at 

the heart of the burgeoning Custard 

Factory area, which is rapidly 

becoming the city’s main media and 

creative location and a nationally 

recognised cluster. 


CONNECTING YOU TO A LAND 

OF TALENT AND OPPORTUNITY 

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BUSINESS BIRMINGHAM SUPPORTS 

YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS 

Greater Birmingham comprises many accelerators and incubators for start-ups and SME’s to access professional, 

commercial and financial support to develop their business. 

BUSINESS BIRMINGHAM 

Business Birmingham is the commercial division within 

Marketing Birmingham, the region’s strategic marketing 

partner, and has played a key role in enabling the city to 

become recognised as the sixth most investible city in 

Europe for two years running, ahead of every other UK city 

(PwC research Jan 2015; Jan 2016). 

Awarded the title of top-performing UK investment 

agency 2016, by specialist locations magazine, Site 

Selection, Business Birmingham provides outstanding 

and award-winning support and services to its clients 

by understanding their specific needs and requirements. 

Some of the services Business Birmingham provide 

include after care, presenting bespoke solutions, services, 

and support; tailoring their suite of unique products to each 

company’s specific requirements. 

Business Birmingham’s support is designed to ensure 

every client is able to establish and grow their operations 

in the city effectively and with ease; that their company’s 

profile is maximised within the city and beyond; and that 

each client has the optimum opportunity for networking, 

introductions and business development. Business 

Birmingham acts as a single point of contact for 

clients, bringing together a project team from relevant 

organisations across the city, such as property agents, 

recruitment consultants, public agencies and universities to 

deliver a comprehensive package of support for companies 

looking to locate in the city and to grow their business. 

SOLIHULL FOR SUCCESS 

Supported by a highly-qualified skills base and strong 

track record in high-value business activities, Solihull 

continues to draw interest from global corporations and 

small entrepreneurial businesses alike, paving the way 

for innovation and growth. 

UK Central (UKC) is a unique concentration of strategic 

economic assets and infrastructure at the heart of 

the UK’s transport network. Comprising Birmingham 

Airport, the NEC and the planned HS2 development, 

UKC is already a key driver of the regional economy, 

attracting investment and creating jobs. UK Central is 

located at the core of the UK, less than an hour from 

London and with direct air links to major European 

capitals, the United States, Asia and the Middle East. 

GBSLEP GROWTH HUB 

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise 

Partnership (GBSLEP) is a partnership of businesses, 

local authorities and universities, which supports private 

sector growth and job creation. The Growth Hub helps 

local small enterprises with a wide variety of services to 

support their business growth ambitions. 

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CITY OF THINGS TO COME 

DIGITAL CROSS-FERTISLISATION 

Greater Birmingham’s supply of digital talent, world-class institutions, first-rate facilities and entrepreneurial 

spirit is creating a melting pot of hybrid digital industries, pioneering technological change and innovation as 

tech becomes increasingly integrated into every sector and industry. Greater Birmingham is home to Centres 

of Excellence and organisations that are developing technologies spanning many sectors and industries and 

fuelling this digital evolution. 

FINTECH 

FinTech is a rapidly growing 

industry in the UK that secured 

over £650 million inward 

investment in 2015. RBS 

and Deutsche Bank have 

recently chosen to be based in 

Birmingham, with HSBC in the 

process of relocating their head 

office from Canary Wharf to the 

heart of the city centre, all of 

which is fuelling a large upsurge 

of FinTech companies moving 

into the city. 

In 2016, global FinTech company 

Lombard Risk, chose Birmingham 

out of 26 other global cities to 

open a new tech centre investing 

in a new wave of products, 

creating 150 new jobs. Choosing 

Birmingham as a location was 

due to the availability of a large 

highly skilled talent pool within 

software development and 

financial analysis. 

SOFTWARE SERVICES 

Greater Birmingham provides 

an ideal location for software 

services companies that 

build exceptional products 

and maximise upon profit 

targeting the B2B sector. Many 

of the companies specialise 

in web development, mobile 

development, bespoke software, 

finance software, legal software, 

business solutions and CRM 

systems. Already, the city is 

home to two of Europe’s largest 

B2B software providers. 

ADVANCED 

MANUFACTURING 

TECHNOLOGY 

Manufacturing is critical in the 

world’s economy, transforming 

ideas and inventions into real 

products. Birmingham’s pedigree 

within advance manufacturing and 

the automotive industry has paved 

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the way for the city to become 

pioneers in the absorption of 

tech into these industries. From 

major rail innovations, through 

to auto-tech, driverless vehicles 

and micro-manufacturing, 

Birmingham has the expertise 

and infrastructure to lead the 

world in advances, innovation and 

implementation for manufacturing. 

The University of Birmingham’s 

Advanced Manufacturing 

Centre has strong industrial 

collaboration with leading 

manufacturers and participates 

in pioneering advances in: 

• Advanced Machining 

• Intelligent Systems 

• Geometric Modelling 

• Process Modelling 

• Laser Machining / Texturing 

• Micro Manufacturing

GAMES 

Home to the UK’s biggest gaming 

event, EGX at the NEC, Birmingham 

is acknowledged as a leading cluster 

for games developers. Home to two 

long-established games developers, 

Rare and Codemasters, as well as 

up-and-coming mobile app makers, 

and universities training the next 

generation of software engineers, 

Birmingham offers it all. 

Birmingham is a hive for the 

growing independent developer 

scene, including Trebuchet Games, 

Digivoodoo, Stormburst and Dojit, 

based at the Innovation Birmingham 

Campus, along with Flaming 

Pumpkin who have offices at the 

Custard Factory. These developers 

are self-publishing games across 

smart platforms, generating 

significant sales and profile within 

the world of smart phone gaming. 

SERIOUS GAMING 

Building on its experience in 

simulation, robotics and human 

factors for applications in aerospace, 

defence and healthcare, the 

University of Birmingham’s 

multidisciplinary Human Interface 

Technologies (HIT) team pioneers 

in the development, evaluation 

and uptake of virtual reality 

and telepresence/telerobotic 

technologies focusing on humancentred 

research issues, relating to 

future interactive technologies. 

The centre is also a beacon for 

applied technology in the armed 

forces, with studies being conducted 

for the Royal Navy, including a 

desktop games engine-based 

demonstrator, as well as a gaming 

solution to test navigational and 

spatial orientation skills of warfare 

officers. 

Additional strength is provided by 

the local universities supporting the 

next generation of developers such 

as Birmingham City University’s 

game-related courses, including 

Computer Games Technology, Interactive 

Entertainment and an MSc in Video 

Game Enterprise and Production. 

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In addition, the region includes 

the Serious Games Institute at 

Coventry University, an International 

Centre for Excellence in Serious 

Games Applied Research, Business 

Engagement and Study. 


BENEFIT MORE 

FROM YOUR 

INVESTMENT 

14

University of Birmingham 

The Guardian’s 

Number One 

University for Computer 

Science & IT 2014 

£120 billion 

regional economy and 

the second-largest urban 

development outside of 

London, with a lower cost 

of living and better value 

for investment 

Birmingham is part of the 

Super Connected Cities 

programme in which the 

Government has invested 

£150 million 

to support the development 

of digital infrastructure 

£1.8 billion 

The youngest and most 

diverse population of 

any major city in Europe 

– 40% under the age of 

25 years 

is the Gross Value 

Added (GVA) for 

the Digital sector in 


Greater 

Birmingham has 

7,500 digital 

media companies 

The highest 

number for any 

UK regional city 


has one of the largest 

tech clusters in the UK 

with 40,000+ 

employed in the sector in 

7,500 digital 

15 

media companies 

15

Want to know how we can make Tech, Digital and Creative happen? 

Get in touch with our Invest Team quoting 

‘Making it happen’ 

T: +44 (0)121 202 5022 

E: invest@marketingbirmingham.com 

Join in the conversation 

#Makingithappen 

business_bham 

BusinessBirmingham 

BusinessBirmingham 

To download a digital version of this brochure please 

log on to businessbirmingham.com/tech 

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Greater Birmingham TECH brochure 2017

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