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How Global Tech is Linking India and the UK’s Silicon Valley

Bangalore

A leading investment hotspot around the globe, the UK has incredible potential for positive returns. A large part of this potential is down to the brands that underpin the UK tech sector, providing employment opportunities, attracting professional workers and encouraging surrounding growth.

Within the wider tech sector, certain towns and cities act as foundations for this growth, utilising their established infrastructure to help businesses flourish. Towns such as Bracknell, Slough and Reading in the South, all located near London, act as affordable alternatives, attracting companies and workers that want to spend less on rent while remaining accessible to London.

It’s within these towns that comparisons can be drawn up between India and the UK – particularly within the tech sector.

Take Bangalore for example, widely considered the ‘tech hub of India’. Despite Mumbai being bigger and richer, Bangalore has a deeper pool of professional workers – particularly in the technology industry. The UK’s version – Bracknell – is the cornerstone of the UK’s Silicon Valley. 

Located just under an hour from London, Bracknell may be smaller but it has a specialised tech landscape with more specialised workers. Much like Bangalore is a cornerstone of the Indian tech sector, Bracknell underpins the UK’s Silicon Valley. There’s even a direct comparison with Bracknell being home to the UK headquarters of tech giant HP, while Bangalore is home to the Indian equivalent.

The same applies to many other global brands that share headquarters in Bracknell as well as key Indian destinations. Dell and Vodafone, for example, are both based in Bracknell and have headquarters in Chennai and Mumbai respectively.

You’d be surprised the effect this can have on the UK market. In terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the level of Indian investment into the UK increased by 255% between 2017 and 2018, while the number of Indian investors choosing the UK increased to over 800 in the same period.

It’s these links that help create ongoing relationships between countries and encourage further cooperation. Anuj Chande, Partner and Head of South Asia Group at Grant Thornton UK LLP, believes: 

“Given the continuing uncertainty driven by the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU), it is encouraging to see that Indian investors continue to invest confidently in the UK and in fact, there are now more Indian businesses active in the UK than ever before. 

“The fall in the value of Sterling has also had a role to play, making UK assets increasingly attractive to overseas investors. Low rates of corporation tax and the ease of doing business in the UK also remain significant draws.”

Going forward, it’s likely that Indian investment will continue to be a top contributor of Foreign Direct Investment into the UK; driven by tech links, growth in regional hotspots and political uncertainty providing Indian investors with savings through foreign exchange. 

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