Over ten days, Tech City — Europe’s fastest growing digital cluster — is hosting hundreds of presentations and panel discussions featuring some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs and start-ups, along with community events, workshops and parties.

Festival organiser Kam Star opened the event by announcing the launch of a Million Pound Start-up contest, which will invest £1 million in one young tech company.

“We have one hell of a week for you with nearly 500 speakers,” Star told a near-capacity crowd at Shoreditch Town Hall on 20 May.

“That’s 500 amazing people to meet and thousands of other amazing people to meet beyond the speakers.”

Now in its third year, Digital Shoreditch is regarded as London’s answer to the US’s South by Southwest festival. This year it is expected to draw around 15,000 people from around the world.

The programme is ambitious. Presentations explore the future of digital and tech; the challenges facing consumer engagement; the best ways to find funding, and the rising power of ‘behavioural design’ — the art of nudging consumers towards make certain choices.

The weekend (May 25-26) features hands-on challenges set by companies and the community, while an ‘open house’ programme (May 21-June 1) sees local studios throw open their doors for meet-ups, day-time discos and future-gazing.

“What excites me about Shoreditch is the momentum,” said speaker Eze Vidra, head of Google’s Campus. “The start-ups, the technology, the number of connections people make. It’s only going to get better.”

Benjamin Southworth, deputy CEO of Tech City Investment Organisation, underlined the UK’s favourable tax regime and Government support: “We have success stories wherever we look…It’s the market, the investment, the people from abroad, the challenge. It’s completely exciting…I believe it’s the greatest city on earth.”

Digital Shoreditch runs until 1 June 2013 and tickets are still available.

The £40m fund, developed by the London Enterprise Panel (LEP), will focus on small and medium-sized businesses, technology, science and infrastructure, cementing London’s committment to helping businesses thrive in the capital.

The fund will support innovative ways of creating jobs and skills in emerging sectors, of supporting growth in business and investment, and increasing productivity.

The plan, with forewords by London Mayor Boris Johnson and LEP co-chairs Kit Malthouse and Harvey McGrath, has four broad goals:

• Skills & employment: to ensure Londoners have the skills to compete for and sustain London jobs
• Micro, small & medium-sized enterprises: to support and grow London’s businesses
• Digital creative, science & technology: for the capital to be recognised globally as world leading hub for science, technology and innovation, creating new jobs and growth
• Infrastructure: to keep London moving

The largest portion of the fund - £25 million - will be used to create a scheme to raise equity or loan finance for small and medium-sized businesses, providing  a significant opportunity for companies with a presence in London. There are currently more than 800,000 SMEs in London, representing 50% of all employment opportunities and £430 billion of business turnover.

The Mayor of London said: “My top priority is to get London’s economy moving and create jobs.”

iCity will become one of the most high-tech sites in Europe, offering superfast fibre connections. The digital hub, situated in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will contain Britain’s highest concentration of digital enterprises in the country and firmly extends London’s cluster for creative and technology firms into Stratford.

More than 6,500 jobs will be created through iCity’s plans, which bring together educational facilities – including a Tech City Apprenticeship Academy – business incubators, the creative digital media sector and established IT giants in one space, to promote collaboration and innovation.

It will also be the home of Infinity Stratford, Europe’s largest and most efficient data centre, offering 140,000 sq ft of technical space, fed by multiple power grids for resilience.

“It’s absolutely fantastic news that the final piece of the Olympic venues jigsaw puzzle has now been firmly put in place,” says Mayor of London Boris Johnson. “iCity is the final jewel in the crown of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and as a world-class digital hub that will employ thousands of people, I’m delighted to welcome them on board.”

iCity is expected to take possession of the buildings in early 2014, and will begin transformation works to develop the buildings immediately.

Gavin Poole, chief executive of iCity, adds: “iCity is at the heart of the economic and social legacy from London 2012. It will provide much-needed infrastructure, commercial space and capacity for the digital and creative industries – the fastest growing sectors of the economy.

“These buildings present an incredible opportunity to the creative and media sector enjoying unrivalled connectivity and power.”

The digital hub will be at the heart of Stratford City, which is one of the best-connected places in London, with more than 200 trains per hour. Over the next decade, this space is set to become a fantastic destination for business, visitors and communities.

As well as playing home to five world class sporting facilities, the area will feature 11,000 new homes in six new neighbourhoods, 250 acres of outdoor space, a year-round programme of indoor and outdoor events, 12 schools and nurseries, four health centres and 300+ shops, restaurants, hotels and offices.

London has seen a notable increase in the number of science and technology businesses setting up in the capital in recent years.

With the diverse talent pool of engineers that London promotes through its universities, and with the strong growth of Tech City, Europe’s fastest-growing technology cluster, London’s position as a global leader in science and technology has never been stronger.

As a result, the number of hybrid businesses, which fuse science, engineering and technology together, is growing.

The Royal Academy of Engineering, based in central London, is helping the trend to grow further by opening an “Enterprise Hub”, a new national resource that will take “the best of the best” early-stage companies and provide them with a long-term package of mentoring, training and support.

More than 70 of the UK’s top technology and engineering entrepreneurs and business professionals – including Autonomy co-founder Dr Mike Lynch, former ARM CEO and Chairman Sir Robin Saxby – have pledged to volunteer at least one day a month to mentor startups and growing SMEs.

Speaking about the launch of the new Enterprise Hub, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “The government is focused on making this the decade of the engineer, and programmes like this will go a long way towards helping us achieve this ambition. This stellar list of mentors – many of whom have founded and led some of the UK’s most successful engineering businesses – will ensure the next generation of talent keeps Britain at the forefront of science and innovation.”

Royal Academy Fellows will give their time and expertise to Academy activities on a pro bono basis. A total of 840 volunteer days have been pledged so far, with the number expected to increase as awareness of the Enterprise Hub grows.

“Working with a range of partners, our vision for the Hub is to seed a culture of success among the most ambitious and high-potential technology-intensive SMEs in the UK,” said Ian Shott, Chair of the Enterprise Committee at the Royal Academy of Engineering.

“It will build their capabilities and provide them with essential connections to established financing and business clusters that offer access to finance and routes to market. Success will be evidenced by UK companies with global vision creating substantial wealth, jobs and associated social and societal benefits.”

If you are considering setting up your science and technology business in London, speak to the team at London & Partners.

London accounted for 30% of all European IPOs in the first quarter, according to accountancy firm PwC.

Two of the biggest stock market debuts were Countrywide, Britain’s biggest estate agent, and Esure, a motor insurer.

The two London IPOs — the first UK IPOs on London’s main stock market backed by private equity since AZ Electronic Materials in October 2010 — raised more than €1bn. They represented two of the top five European IPOs of the quarter, according to PwC.

Experts predict that 2013 will be a good year for IPOs.

“If current market sentiment persists, London and potentially the rest of Europe appears set for a good year with a large pipeline of businesses sizing up the market,” PwC says.

One reason for this optimism is that most of the companies that have floated in London hit their “offer price” targets. And a majority of the top IPOs either improved on or held their offer price after their IPO, according to PwC.

The real estate industry raised the most value through European IPOs during the first quarter, followed by insurance and investment companies.

Proceeds from European IPOs rose by 37% in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the first quarter of 2012.

This comes just as the UK Government and the Tech City Investment Organisation launch the Future Fifty Programme, which will support high-growth businesses and lay the foundations for their successful listing on the UK stock market.

London’s success is being driven by centres of excellence such as Tech City, home to Europe’s biggest concentration of start-ups; Level 39, a finance-meets-technology accelerator for entrepreneurs; and the Francis Crick Institute, which will undertake groundbreaking medical research by collaborating with pharma and biotech sectors.

Journalists from India’s Economic Times, Italy’s Corriere della Sera and TechCrunch heard about London’s growing success at a panel debate, organised by London & Partners in Tech City on April 9^th.

“There is a phenomenal ecosystem in London,” said Gordon Innes, London & Partners CEO, comparing the city’s concentration of disciplines to the US’s more disparate industry base. “You have the government of Washington…the tech industry from the Valley…the creative cultural side from New York as well as the financial services… the advertising cluster from Chicago.

“You have all of that in one place here. It’s not surprising therefore that London is consistently ranked as one of the best cities in terms of convergence.”

Held at Google’s Tech City Campus, the panel discussion kicked off a two-day media tour of some of London’s most innovative digital businesses including Moo.com, Yammer, MindCandy and GREE.

The panel also heard how London’s data mining talents are powering breakthroughs across industry. The city is home to the “biggest cluster of machine learning and data mining in the world,” according to moderator Pru Ashby, Head of Partnerships at the Tech City Investment Organisation.

London & Partners has recently helped several overseas companies in hybrid tech sectors set up and succeed in London including ‘energyTech’ leader SenseOne Technologies from Cyprus, and ‘FoodTech’ firm Zomato, headquartered in India.

The Future Fifty programme, unveiled this morning by Chancellor George Osborne and Tech City CEO Joanna Shields, is designed to enable 50 high-growth businesses to accelerate their growth and lay the foundations for a successful listing in the UK.

The concierge-style service will support the companies with help from experts through a mentoring scheme, a programme of events and tailored support on issues ranging from immigration to exports and international trade.

Commenting on the launch of the Future Fifty, Tech City’s Joanna Shields said: “There is a rising tide of successful, high-growth businesses in this country. But if we want to enable them to achieve their true potential, transform the markets in which they operate and generate significant economic benefit, we must do everything we can to help them grow.

“The Future Fifty programme will ensure that this remains the best place in Europe to imagine, start and grow a business.”

High-growth businesses are the engines of economic growth, with research suggesting that a minority – just 6 per cent – generate more than half of all new, high-value jobs.

“We need to back the insurgent businesses that create the majority of new jobs and innovations in the economy,” added Chancellor George Osborne. “We’re going to be rolling out the red carpet to the world’s fastest-growing companies, making it as easy as possible for them to list in London.”

The Future Fifty will help fast-growing companies through a range of measures, including:

• Tailored support from UK Trade & Investment’s Overseas Market Introductory Service, which spans 96 markets throughout the world
• Access to International Trade Advisers and priority placement on trade missions and business delegations
• Mentorship from world-class organisations, including law firms, banks and accountants to provide guidance on corporate governance and preparing businesses for the public markets
• Advice on immigration issues, including the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa and Exceptional Talent routes
• A programme of promotion, events and engagement to help reach investors, suppliers and customers and to help attract top talent

The year-long Future Fifty programme is available to companies from the UK and the EU, as well as UK-controlled foreign companies. Selected companies will be drawn from high-tech sectors as well as retail, finance, fashion, food and design. Applicants will need to have been trading for at least two years with revenue growth of at least 100 per cent year on year.

The Future Fifty is the most recent of a number of announcements that cement London’s standing as a destination of choice for starting and growing a business. Another key development was the announcement by the London Stock Exchange last month, in a bid to improve access to the public markets for high-growth companies, of the creation of a new High Growth Segment.

If you’re a fast-growing business considering a move to London, get in touch with the London & Partners team, who can give you advice on how to set up, succeed and grow in London.

The UK’s creative industries, centred on London, are worth more than £36 billion a year.

“The global games industry is the fastest growing creative industry in the world,” said Dan Wood, spokesman for UKIE, the UK’s interactive entertainment industry trade body.

“The UK games industry has got massive potential for growth. You can get investment from traditional publishers, from banks; growth from the bottom up from start-ups and also established studios…It’s a massive opportunity for the UK and London to say it’s open for business.”

Wood was speaking at a panel discussion organised by London & Partners, held at Google’s Tech City Campus in East London on April 9^th to showcase exciting digital developments to international journalists.

Tech City is home to Europe’s largest concentration of tech start-ups, including gaming companies GREE and WE R Interactive. The area is currently preparing for Digital Shoreditch, a May festival which attracts thousands of creatives, brands, agencies and entrepreneurs.

“London has a very good track record of developing business models,” added Wood. “We have the experts, start-up clusters, brands: it all adds up to a pretty good place for the games industry.”

The UK gaming industry is the largest in Europe, contributing around £1 billion to national GDP. Home-grown successes include Tomb Raider, RuneScape and Grand Theft Auto.

The tax break could add an extra £280 million to the economy over the next five years, according to the Government, which is also pumping an additional £6m into the creative sector, providing training for people working in gaming, film, television and animation.

London already holds Europe’s crown for qualified staff and languages spoken: Cushman & Wakefield’s latest European Cities Monitor put it top in its latest European Cities Monitor.

The city’s creative talent has now been hailed as world-class at a panel event held in Tech City, East London on April 9^th.

“The three things that make London the best city in Europe are the universities, the financial help and the enormous pool of creative talent that is at the forefront of generating new ideas,” Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Enterprise, told the panel, gathered by London & Partners for an audience including tech journalists from India’s Economic Times, Italy’s Corriere della Sera, Spain’s Tic Beat and TechCrunch.

“We’re making sure that London is the place where people come to learn…and do business.”

Developments such as University College London’s planned £1bn campus, a leading centre for technology and research set to open next to the city’s Olympic Park, were hailed as examples of London’s continued commitment to nurturing talent.

The panel discussion was held at Google’s Campus, a co-working space for tech startups, and panelists included Joanna Shields, the UK Government’s Business Ambassador for the Digital Industries, Jon Bradford, MD of seed funders TechStars, and Kam Star, founder of Digital Shoreditch, a two week-long festival attracting thousands of brands, agencies and entrepreneurs.

Campus head, Eze Vidra explained the success of Google’s ‘open source’ building: “The reason it’s so successful is the talent: the number of entrepreneurs in one room. When we have so many smart people under one roof you’re going to create this magic.”

London’s ability to combine creative skills across genres such as art, fashion, design and journalism were another reason for the city’s success, added Malthouse.

To find out more about London’s ability to nurture and attract top talent, read our talent thought piece.

The launch of London Stock Exchange’s High Growth Segment — specifically designed to cater for fast-growing companies — the abolition of stamp duty on AIM shares and the birth of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), designed to help small companies raise equity finance by offering tax breaks to investors, are among the initiatives designed to help turn small UK-based tech firms into multi-million-pound international successes.

“We need to nurture these start-ups to make sure that they get to the growth stage,” said Shields at a panel event organised by London & Partners at Google Campus, in London’s Tech City in April 2013.

“All of these policies come from consultation with businesses here in London and across the country.”

The London & Partners event, which saw some of Europe’s leading tech journalists quiz a panel of leading digital entrepreneurs, highlighted the meeting of funding and exciting new business ideas in Tech City.

“This is about entrepreneurs and investors coming together to create something that’s meaningful,” said Jon Bradford, MD of TechStars, which secures seed funding from top venture capital firms and angel investors.

London Stock Exchange CEO Alexander Justham said in a statement: “Ensuring that the UK’s fastest growing and most dynamic companies have access to equity capital is a priority for London Stock Exchange. The High Growth Segment will provide an additional attractive choice, giving these companies a launch pad for further success.”