Why the British Consulate wants Philly tech companies to open offices in the U.K.

Great Britain: The birthplace of the steam engine, the television, the World Wide Web. That was then, this is now.

Great Britain: A country that’s opening its borders to talented entrepreneurs and technicians. A government that places technological innovation at the heart of its growth strategy. A culture that values diversity, ambition, and new ways of thinking.

Last year the British Consulate General New York, which I head up as Her Majesty’s Consul General, and UK Trade & Investment, the commercial arm of our government, launched an exciting new programme called The GREAT Tech Awards. The aim: to promote the fast-expanding tech scene in the UK to a U.S. audience and to encourage ambitious startups here in the U.S. to consider the UK as their premier destination for international expansion. Encouraged by the success of the inaugural Awards, which were only open to companies in New York, we’re thrilled this year to be expanding them to New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

This week, as the Aug. 1 deadline approaches for GREAT Tech Awards applicants, I’m extremely excited to be traveling to Philadelphia to meet some of the great tech companies based there.

Why Philly? Well, it’s always been a hothouse for ambitious younger talent thanks to the strength of its college culture, reasonable living costs and high standard of living.

Now — as it reaps the benefits of the rapid expansion of biotech, tech manufacturing, and telecommunications and IT companies — it’s home to the largest concentration of tech and creative companies in the region, and more exciting than ever. The UK and Philadelphia share a lot — so much so that Mayor Michael Nutter last November led a large delegation of Philadelphian businesses to the UK to find out more about doing business there. Among the stops on his visit was “Tech City,” the fast-growing cluster of tech companies in East London that’s helped boost employment during our economic recovery and is increasingly the model for all European tech ecosystems.

Why the UK?

• In London, 27 percent of new jobs are in the tech and digital sector, which now employs well over half a million people.
• Scotland is big on life sciences and energy, sectors in which startups in Philly have found great success.
• In Manchester and Oxfordshire, meanwhile, there are specialist clusters surrounding health tech, another area where Philadelphia companies excel.
• Earlier this year we expanded our “exceptional talent” visas to allow individuals with digital expertise to apply.
• Corporation tax is lower in the UK than anywhere in Europe, and our Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme helps early-stage companies to raise equity finance by offering tax reliefs to individual investors.
• Besides, everyone benefits from the meeting of ideas and cultures that happens when companies go on the road.

There are six categories in The GREAT Tech Awards: education, finance, health, Internet of things, lifestyle and media. Our judges come from some of the biggest names in tech: Tumblr, Mashable, Impossible.com, Siegel+Gale, Janssen Healthcare Innovation, Guggenheim Partners and Billboard.

Winners get flights to London for a week-long business-development trip where they’ll be introduced to legal, accountancy, banking and recruitment services. They’ll go to the Innovate Conference and meet members of the local tech scene in London. They’ll meet with a senior representative from the Prime Minister’s office and be mentored by a UK business leader. All this, and a five-night stay at the Corinthia Hotel.

Keen? We’d love to hear from you. Check out the GREAT Tech Awards site and get in touch with us at GREATtech@fco.gov.uk.