First Tech City float may be two years off
GOOGLE will today announce that the companies who joined its East London Campus startup community have collectively raised £34m in funds this year, as a former executive of Tech City warns the first flotation of a Silicon Roundabout startup could still be two years away.
The warning came from Benjamin Southworth, former deputy chief executive of the Tech City Investment Organisation (now Tech City UK) who left in July, who told City A.M.: “We’re still probably 18 to 24 months away. We did hope that King would float in the UK, but that didn’t go our way.”
Despite the lack of London tech IPOs, Google said its startup community has grown from 8,000 to 22,500 members since January – with an average of £75,000 raised per startup. “We’re already seeing rapid growth, job-creation and significant investment,” said Eze Vidra, head of Campus.
The Tech City UK quango, which is led by Facebook’s former managing director in EMEA Joanna Shields, celebrates its third anniversary this Friday.