where in the UK for a software company?

[Suffolk911]

Hi everyone, I run a specialised software company in Switzerland. We are about to open a UK office with a view of recruiting two types of people, (i) software developers, specifically data mining / web search / "semantic computing type" skills and (ii) technology developers. Until now the technology developers are all PhD qualified scientists, however the need here is for outstanding engineers or scientists who have an "intuitive" knowledge of their subject and can think broadly and laterally. In general we are after people who are very much leaders in the field. I need to find somewhere in the UK where:

(a) we can find (or attract) the people we need
(b) reasonably near an airport with frequent flights to Geneva
(c) nice to live with high quality of life, and which could be attractive to our employees in its own right
(d) ideally part of a larger technology ecosystem (science park etc.)
(e) access to UK government location specific grants would be useful, but not essential by any means - definitely optional ...

Apart from that, I'm flexible - anyone got any ideas?

All the best

Suffolk

[Simpo Two]

Cambridge is known as 'Silicon Fen'...

[Suffolk911]

Thanks for that. I know Cambridge very well, but I guess was hoping I could find somewhere a bit more exciting in terms of countryside and, in my personal view, quality of life. Having said that I think there's a reasonable chance we will end up in Cambridge, but surely there must be somewhere else combining the benefits of Cambridge with a few hills and a more car friendly / nicer city ? Is there anywhere nice to live near Cambridge which is not flat ?

Suffolk

[aizvara]

Yes, Suffolk.

[aizvara]

Seriously, though, Cambridge and the Thames Valley (Reading/Winnersh?) are the technology centres of the UK, as far as I am aware. Both over crowded.

Maybe somewhere like Bristol would be good. Or Manchester? Manchester has UMIST and the airport. I doubt either are particularly car friendly.


Edit to add:
Actually, if you figure out somewhere as you describe, could you let me know; I tried to escape from Cambridge once already, (moving to Suffolk - some hills!), and ended up back here where the developer jobs are.

Edited by aizvara on Monday 20th May 22:05

[onyx39]

Surely it has to Reading, frequent links via M4 and train to LHR, and the uk's "Silicon Valley"

[cailean]

TechCity?

[hornetrider]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Glen

[jammy_basturd]

Biggest tech communities currently are TechCity/Shoreditch, Cambridge, bit of a community up in Gateshead, Manchester/Salford (though I think this is more on the broadcasting side what with the BBC being there), Bristol, bit of one in Cardiff, but I've heard the Welsh community is a bit more Wales focused/insular).

We've got quite a few techie companies here in Kent (Canterbury and Maidstone, some in the Medway towns), but unfortunately most of our talent heads up to London. I guess this is a problem that any where within an hour or two of London has.

That's if it has to be UK? Big communities in Barcelona, Berlin and Amsterdam.

[Gizmoish]

Ah, the Silicon Roundabout. Biggest self-fulfilling in-joke ever.

I cant really help, but don't set up in Shoreditch.

[jammy_basturd]

Gizmoish said:

Ah, the Silicon Roundabout. Biggest self-fulfilling in-joke ever.

I cant really help, but don't set up in Shoreditch.

Huh?

[russ_a]

Brighton?

[uber]

Glasgow and Edinburgh has some real talent and is the home to a number of great cos like skyscanner and free agent. Lots of local help, great tech community and great transport hub

[Olivera]

Speaking from my own experience here, Glasgow has a huge number of IT jobs (including software development), with large tech centres from investment banks such as JPMorgan, Barclays and Morgan Stanley. Edinburgh is similar and has large software development sites such as RBS and Amazon.

I've worked for a number of the above companies (as well as 'down south') and wouldn't be surprised if Glasgow has the second largest number of software development roles in the UK (after London). If I were you I'd certainly consider Glasgow/Edinburgh along with London and Cambridge.

Direct flights are available to Geneva from Edinburgh airport, which I've taken on several occasions last year when doing some work out there. If you need any more info on the above let me know!

Edited by Olivera on Tuesday 21st May 00:57

[bishbash]

Olivera said:

and wouldn't be surprised if Glasgow has the second largest number of software development roles in the UK (after London). If I were you I'd certainly consider Glasgow/Edinburgh along with London and Cambridge.

Is that a good thing though, (in the OP's case) wouldn't he be competing for talent against every other company? Or is it that, because there are so many jobs around people move there and then keep an eye on more interesting opportunities?

[scorp]

Sheffield-Leeds-Manchester, if you fancy up north..

[Kudos]

Belfast. Good government grants for setting up, plenty of v good graduates too.

If interested, drop me a Pm. Can help out

[Kudos]

Should have also said that one of the worlds top data mining chaps also lives here - he lectured me at uni

[Gizmoish]

jammy_basturd said:

Gizmoish said:

Ah, the Silicon Roundabout. Biggest self-fulfilling in-joke ever.

I cant really help, but don't set up in Shoreditch.

Huh?

My office is in Shoreditch. The only IT stuff there is little start-ups full of people who missed the first dot-com bubble desperately trying to raise their profile so someone will buy them out. As a result more hipster socialising than actual hard work occurs.

[johnfm]

Why do you need a UK presence?

To tap into funding?

Why else would you bother, when Geneva would be a far more attractive lifestyle choice for most prospective employees.