Booming digital sector fuels growth at Leeds' home of tech

• 18 new businesses moved to Platform during the last three months of 2021

• 7 existing companies at Platform expanded as a result of growth

• £1.6bn growth predictions for Yorkshire’s digital tech sector expected to fuel further demand in 2022

Bruntwood SciTech welcomed 18 new fast growth tech and digital businesses to Platform - the home of tech in Leeds, during the final quarter of 2021, while a further seven Platform-based companies expanded as a result of recent growth.

The demand for all-inclusive serviced office and coworking space specifically designed for businesses in the science and tech sector comes as Yorkshire continues in its post-pandemic economic trajectory towards the creation of a further 42,000 digital tech jobs, generating £1.6bn in GVA for the region, by 2025, the fastest growing tech sector in the UK.

The best connected transport and local amenity location in all of Leeds, connected to Leeds train station in the heart of the city centre, Platform is home to the city’s only dedicated Tech Hub, ideal for new and early stage digital tech startups who co-locate alongside large tech companies. Offering coworking space and serviced offices as well as larger leased or managed office space, Platform has the capability to support companies at every stage of their growth.

Among those joining the community at Platform are music AI platform Musiio, new fintech powered business bank Recognise Bank, VSaaS Smart Cloud Video Surveillance company Morphean, and leading, independent provider of managed IT services Hyperslice.

These rapidly growing firms will join an established like-minded ecosystem of more than 80 of the region’s most innovative and disruptive digital and tech businesses such as digital development partners xDesign, digital transformation experts FluidIT and People Movement Analytics Specialists Citi Logik, all of which have recently expanded at the city’s only dedicated specialist tech hub, following sustained periods of growth.

Part of Bruntwood SciTech’s network of innovation districts, businesses at Platform benefit from unrivalled access funding, talent, new markets and a large connected partner network, such as Leeds Beckett University, Mercia, AI Tech North and Paceline Digital.

Deb Hetherington, Head of Innovation at Bruntwood SciTech: “Innovative tech and digital businesses thrive from proximity to one another, which makes the growth of Platform’s ecosystem an exciting development for the city’s tech community. It is the ideal base for companies looking to accelerate their growth, something which is evident by the number of companies based there that have expanded over the past year.”

As Singapore's first VC funded Deep Tech AI music company, Musiio decided to open its first UK office in Leeds because of the region’s tech-talent pool, with five job openings currently listed.

Commenting on its move, Hazel Savage, CEO at Musiio, said: “Platform came highly recommended by other startup founders in the Yorkshire area, and what I have loved even more is the connections I've made since moving in. I'm realising it's a tight knit but incredibly welcoming community, who are all willing to network and share ideas and resources. The Tech Hub in particular for an AI business such as Musiio is absolutely the place to be for a company like ours. I love being immersed in the Tech culture which is forward thinking, kind hearted and innovative."

Matt Ward, Head of Client Services at xDesign, said: "With its specialist support for tech businesses, Platform has been the ideal base to drive xDesign's success and growth in Leeds and the North of England. Not only does the Tech Hub give us the chance to interact with like-minded, innovative businesses on a daily basis, it provides us with the perfect space to nurture the people we've brought on board since arriving here, while we continue working towards our goal of creating 100 jobs in the North of England by 2023. Looking ahead, Platform is the perfect place for us to continue creating opportunities, developing talent, and building relationships in the area."

James Meigh, Regional Director, North, for Recognise Bank, commented: “Platform is perfect for our new regional office because it puts us at the heart of a vibrant business community with like-minded companies, while also providing the ideal base to serve our growing customer-base in the North.”