Sheffield creative and digital sector strongest in UK report claims
Sheffield has been named as the leading city for the UK’s creative and digital industries (CDI) by a report which claims that the city’s creative sector grew faster between 2003 and 2009 than the UK average.
The report, by Trend Business Research, says that the city’s creative sector grew at a faster rate than that in comparator cities Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Bristol.
The report found that the digital sector in the city region contained over 6,000 CDI firms, employed 20,900 people and created a turnover of over £1bn. It also showed that Gross Value Added per employee within Sheffield’s creative and digital sector increased between 2006 and 2009.
James Wilson, investment manager for the Creative and Digital sector at Creativesheffield, welcomed the findings and highlighted the move by Sky to move into the city’s Digital Campus, resulting in the creation of over 500 new jobs as a sign of continuing success for the sector.
Wilson added: “The CDI companies within the city have achieved some fantastic accolades. A few examples include: Zoo Digital, which makes software for interactive DVDs, is gaining recognition in Hollywood; digital communications from QUBA has helped organisations like the BBC, Channel 4, Land Rover and the Carbon Trust to embrace the digital age; and WANdisco, a world leading infrastructure software provider based in Silicon Valley, established their European headquarters in Sheffield in 2008 helping Sheffield to become a world leader in replication software technology.”
The largest sub sector in the city was found to be Hardware and Computer Services, followed by Software.