The North West of England is a ‘perfect’ spot for tech start-ups, scale-ups, and unicorns, according to a new report by London Tech Week.

The region, which includes Manchester and Liverpool, is currently home to six of the UK’s 14 digital unicorns, representing a 43 per cent share of the market.

A recent survey found that Manchester is second only to London as a destination for tech workers with 15 per cent heading to the Northern city compared to 18 per cent in the capital.

“The UK is home to 35 per cent of Europe’s unicorns and, over the last four years, has created more unicorns than Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands,” said Suzy Pallett, London Tech Week festival director. “Of the 14 digital tech unicorns created in the UK, six of these (43 per cent) are located in the North West, including THG (The Hut Group), The Very Group, Radius Payment Solutions, AO.com, AutoTrader and Boohoo.”

Matthew Moulding, THG founder, chairman and chief executive said: “The North West has a long history of pioneering technologies, from being at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, to its key role in the early days of computing. And in the 21st century, the region is forging new paths, with a focus on modern specialities – HealthTech, e-commerce and FinTech. Already home to six digital tech unicorns and attracting inward investment from far and wide, the North West is unsurprisingly showing no signs of slowing down.”

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