Bristol is a well-known hotbed of talent supported by its excellent higher education institutions. Over the years a broad variety of ‘business/innovation’ hubs aimed at creating and supporting individuals and businesses have been developed in the city. It’s therefore no surprise then that Bristol has been named as the best UK city outside London for start-ups in StartupBlink’s annual global report and that SETsquared, the University of Bristol-led start-up incubator, was awarded ‘hottest accelerator’ in Europe at The Europas 2020 in recognition of the work it has done to support over 250 start-ups.
Bristol’s vibrant environment, supportive start-up culture and breadth of co-working and incubator organisations have proven a successful formula for nurturing and developing successful businesses. With leading universities on the doorstep, the talent pipeline continues to attract a mix of tech companies to the city.
Over the past five years the TMT (technology media and telecommunication) sector has accounted for 27 per cent of Bristol’s office take-up, considerably up from the preceding five-year average (2010-2014) in which the sector accounted for just 16 per cent – demonstrating the sector’s growth within the city.
Earlier this year, fintech start-up ClearBank signed for 4,000 sq ft at Prologue Works, its first office letting in Bristol. ClearBank was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in the City of London. And if you look at 2019 there are plenty of other examples to show the growth of start-ups in the city with tech innovators Graphcore, Five AI and Ultrahaptics all expanding their office space, demonstrating significant employment growth within each firm.
Many start-up companies begin in serviced office space before they expand and take on traditional office leases. Bristol therefore has a strong network of providers that support this sector. In Bristol, according to data from Workthere, the average serviced office desk price during Q2 2020 was £350 per month, on par with Manchester and Birmingham, demonstrating the highest serviced office desk price in the ‘Big Six’ regional office market.
However, disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has seen many occupiers in Bristol, who are currently in serviced space, put their moves on hold.
It was a welcome relief when the Government introduced a £500 million Future Fund in April which was made available for tech start-ups. This fund matches funding given to start-ups by the private sector, with state-backed loans of between £125,000 and £5 million available. The national innovation agency, Innovate UK, has also provided a further £750 million through grants and loans for small businesses focusing on research and development.
With Bristol continuing to be recognised for its supportive start-up environment, we can expect occupational activity from Bristol’s youngest and most innovative companies to pick back up towards the end of this year, when disruption has reduced and more certainty is brought back into the market.
Further information
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