London's start-up spirit makes UK the global home of engineering enterprise

Almost two-thirds of London’s engineers have founded their own business, and the city's thriving entrepreneurial spirit has helped the UK leapfrog the US as the 'global centre' for engineering start-ups, according to new research.

Carried out to mark the annual showcase of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub, the research found 34% of UK engineers have founded their own business, compared to 27% in the US.

London skewed the results, with a huge 63% of surveyed engineers saying they had founded start-ups. Outside of London, only 15% had founded their own firm.

Compared to specific regions worldwide, the capital – home to the so-called Silicon Roundabout in Old Street – was second only to Silicon Valley in California, with its highly-skilled workforce, culture of engineering and easy access to investors.

“The UK engineering community is a lot more entrepreneurial than we are sometimes given credit for,” said academy CEO Dr Hayaatun Sillem at last night’s showcase.

“But we recognise there is still a lot more to do, especially outside London, Oxford and Cambridge, and we believe strongly that the hub should play its part in ensuring that we address that challenge.”

The event was the fifth annual showcase of the hub, which has supported more than 100 entrepreneurs and small-to-medium enterprises to commercialisation.

Engineers pitching for support at the showcase included Dr Enass Abo-Hamed from H2GO Power, which creates hydrogen-based storage for renewable energy, and Dr Julio Guerrero, whose Metix Medical start-up developed a light and portable medical device to rapidly collect patients’ vital information.

“We often think of the US as a hotbed of enterprise, but the results clearly show that an entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking on this side of the pond too,” said hub chairman Ian Shott CBE.

“We founded the Enterprise Hub to bring together exceptional engineering business leaders, both emerging and established, for mutual gain. Given time and support they have begun to develop tomorrow’s world-leading innovative enterprises, extending Britain’s reputation for invention and creativity.”

Low numbers of start-ups outside London means the Government must do more to support new engineering companies at a local level, said IMechE head of engineering Dr Jenifer Baxter. 

“Engineering start-ups must have the right support networks in place providing, financial, incubation opportunities and industry connections to enable new ideas to be translated into reality and to create sustainable supply chains across our regions," she said. 

“The UK has fantastic regional capabilities and heritage, from the high-value manufacturing heartlands of the Midlands through to the heavy industry of Wales and the flourishing start-ups of Manchester. Engineering research is already well distributed throughout the UK – it is a national strength and our start-ups, many formed as university spin-outs, should be supported more to ensure the regions can prosper.”

The new research collected information from 400 engineers in an online poll.

The work also revealed a generational gap, with just one in 10 aged 40 or over having started or considered starting a business, compared to a third aged 21-30 and half of those aged 31-40.