Over 80 percent of UK tech start-ups are confident about the coming year according to figures compiled by Studio Graphene.
The outfit’s second quarter 2019 Tech Tracker has revealed that confidence levels among UK tech startups is fractionally higher than three months ago with 80 percent of tech startups are ‘confident’ (41 percent) or ‘very confident’ (39 percent) about their growth prospects for the coming yeah. This figure was one percent higher than the first quarter,
Over the next year 73 percent of tech startups plan to hire more staff which is 18 percent lower than in Q1 2019 and just 59 percent intend to raise finance – down seven per.cent. The confidence of UK tech startups has remained consistence over the past quarter despite on-going Brexit uncertainty and the Conservative Party’s leadership contest, Studio Graphene’s latest Tech Tracker has revealed.
There was a slight rise in the number of startups planning to expand into new territories over the next year – the figure rose from 67 percent to 70 percent between the first and second quarters.
Elsewhere, Studio Graphene’s research found that hiring the right talent remains the biggest challenge facing tech startups in the UK right now – 54 percent cited this as an obstacle to growth. This was followed by increasing sales (48 percent), securing private investment (41 percent), enhancing their product (36 percent) and keeping pace with competitors (24 percent).
Looking to the political landscape, there was a largely even split between those businesses who felt the outcome of the Tory leadership would affect their growth prospects (51 percent) and those who did not think it would have a significant bearing on their company (49 percent).
Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director of Studio Graphene, commented: “The quarterly Tech Tracker survey was designed to help us monitor the confidence of UK tech startups. And it’s positive to note the vast majority of these businesses remain optimistic about their growth prospects for the year ahead regardless of Brexit and the Hunt-Johnson showdown.
“However, the slight dip in the number of companies seeking investment or planning to hire more people should sound a warning that the on-going political and economic uncertainty is resulting in a slightly more conservative approach among some entrepreneurs. Clearly, startups need clarity on the country’s future if they are to effectively shape their own – the government must recognise otherwise both our tech startups and the wider economy will suffer.”
