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Summary
- The British tech industry has been on a roll when compared to other sectors despite the pandemic.
- The UK saw the biggest number of tech unicorns in the build across Europe over the past decade. It was 79 for the UK, 32 for Germany and 16 in France.
- Currently, nearly 2.93 million people work in the sector, making the UK one of the most attractive destinations for talented people in Europe.
The British tech sector has been one of the fastest-growing industry sectors in the United Kingdom in 2020. The tech sector is increasingly becoming an important part of the British economy. Thanks to the venture capital investments, which grew by 40% in 2019, the sector has been successful in transforming the job scenario and also by boosting the economy. The industry has been able to attract investments of more than £10.1 billion in 2019, which is a growth of 44 per cent over the previous year and more than the tech investments that came to France and Germany combined.
The gross value added (GVA) of the British technology sector has grown six times faster than that of the entire economy from 2010 to 2018 rising from £104 billion to £149 billion during that period. In terms of capital flow into the fintech sector, the investments have risen by 100 per cent this year over the last year. On a global scale, UK’s growth has been recorded just behind the US and China.
Below are four prominent British technology companies that are worth taking note of
1. SmartSpace Software Plc – (LON:SMRT)
This is the UK-based IT service management company. It provides services and technology for smart buildings and commercial spaces. The company has three business divisions -- hardware and system integration, Software division New Zealand, and Software Division UK. The UK Software division segment is the most profitable segment of the company. The shares of SmartSpace Software were admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 06 September 2006 with the ticker name SMRT.
(Source – Thomson Reuters)
On 2 January, the shares of SmartSpace Software were at GBX 59.50 per share. On 12 October, the shares of the company were at GBX 89.00 per share, unchanged as compared to the previous day’s close.
2. TrackWise Designs Plc – (LON:TWD)
TrackWise Design Plc is a UK domiciled specialist Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design company. The company has two divisions -- Improved Harness Technology (IHT) and Radio Frequency (RF). The company sells its products globally across different sectors and applications which benefit from its specialised RF Antennas and lightweight products. The company serves clients in the defence, cellular networks, transportation as well as medical services providing industries.
(Source – Thomson Reuters)
The shares of TrackWise Design were admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 31 July 2018 with the ticker name TWD.
On 2 January, the shares of TrackWise Design were at GBX 93.00 per share. Last checked on 12 October, (9.29 AM GMT+1), the shares of the company were trading at GBX 211.70 per share, gaining 6.92 per cent over the previous day’s close.
3. Softcat – (LON:SCT)
This company is a Marlow Buckinghamshire domiciled IT infrastructure and services company. Other than its headquarters in Marlow, the company has offices in seven other locations in England and one in Dublin. The company perhaps is known most for its podcast series called "Explain IT". This podcast, which till this time has tuned two seasons and eighteen episodes, has been awarded the "The Best Marketing Campaign" award at the 2019 CRN Sales and Marketing Awards.
(Source – Thomson Reuters)
The shares of Softcat were admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 13 November 2015 with the ticker name SCT. The shares of Softcat also form part of the FTSE 250 index.
On 2 January, the shares of Softcat were at GBX 1198.00 per share. Last checked on 12 October, (9.48 AM GMT+1), the shares of the company were trading at GBX 1,224.00 per share, gaining 1.58 per cent over the previous day’s close.
4. Computacenter Plc – (LON:CCC)
This company is a Hatfield, Hertfordshire domiciled British computer software and services company. The company’s business segments include Supply, support, implementation of software products and management of information technology systems. Other than the UK, the company has facilities in Barcelona in Spain and Cape Town in South Africa where it provides its services as well. Over the years, the company has made two acquisitions – one of which was Dagica, a provider of managed IT services for mid-market and public sector companies.
(Source – Thomson Reuters)
The shares of Computacenter were admitted to the London Stock Exchange on 29 May 1998 with the ticker name CCC. The shares of Computacenter Plc also form part of the FTSE 250 index.
On 2 January, the shares of Computacenter were at GBX 1,804.00 per share. Last checked on 12 October (10.01 AM GMT+1), the shares of the company were trading at GBX 2467.40 per share, losing 0.11 per cent over the previous day’s close.
FTSE TechMARK index Vs FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE techMARK 100 index is the representative FTSE index of the British Tech Sector and is an indicator of how the sector is performing. This index was moving concurrently to the FTSE 100 index since the beginning of 2020. However, since the stock market crash in March, FTSE techMARK 100 index has taken the lead and is growing at a much faster rate than the FTSE 100 index.
Since the beginning of the year till 12 October (10.05 AM GMT+1), the FTSE 100 index has given a return of -20.23 per cent while the FTSE techMARK 100 index has given a return of -0.58 per cent.
(Source – Thomson Reuters)
