Cardiff enterprise is driven by digital
Cardiff has seen a significant rise in the number of new businesses in recent years, with the digital sector fuelling the increase, a new report says.
Research by Lloyds Bank Business Insurance reveals strong new business growth in Cardiff, with 25% more businesses in the city in 2016 than in 2010.
The growth has been driven by a rapid increase in information and communication businesses. According to the report, the overall number of digital businesses in Cardiff has increased 47% since 2010. One in every eight businesses set up in the region since 2010 was in the information and communications sector.
The findings demonstrate the move towards knowledge-based industries, with south Wales recently named one of the five fastest-growing digital clusters in the UK.
Cardiff Council’s head of economic development Ken Poole said: “The report backs up what we have been seeing in Cardiff, where over the past two years we have seen private sector jobs grow by 11%.
“We’ve been working hard to make sure our business environment can compete with the best across the UK and this has resulted in growth in areas highlighted in the report, such as financial services and digital business. Our growing economy, coupled with Cardiff’s skilled and competitive workforce will only provide more opportunities, with the city now emerging as a real viable alternative to higher-cost locations such as London.”
The five highest growth sectors for new business formation in Cardiff between 2010-16 were:
Professional, scientific and technical (27.2% of overall change in business population).
Administrative and support services (16.9%).
Information and communication (12.7%).
Human health and social work (7.9%).
Financial and insurance (7.6%).
One successful new digital businesses in the Welsh capital is Wealthify, an online investment service using technology and smart algorithms to democratise investing.
The company was co-founded by Dr Richard Theo, managing director of ActiveQuote.com, and chartered wealth manager Michelle Pearce.
Wealthify’s online technology requires no investment knowlege and is targeted at people who want to invest anything from £1 to £2m. It uses algorithms and an investment team to build basic portfolios according to “investment styles” ranging from “cautious” to “adventurous”.
Its portfolios came through the economic uncertainties of the last year well and each of the five “investment styles” outperformed its benchmark average between February 2016 and February 2017.
The growth in digital businesses has been supported by government spending via the Business Wales Digital Development Fund, allocated exclusively to support innovative technology companies.