Agri-Tech
Gloucestershire proudly houses the UK's largest network of agri-tech SMEs and features two agriculturally focused universities, making the county the first choice for prominent agri-tech businesses.
Cyber-Tech
Gloucestershire is the premier destination for cyber-tech businesses that are leading innovation in the sector. With a deep mix of business experience, the county is also home to GCHQ, and we’re driving digital businesses forward by opening the UK’s first fully cyber-centric business park.
A true digital powerhouse, Gloucestershire has long been a cradle of cyber innovation, thanks to our longstanding relationship with GCHQ – the country’s national cyber security and communications centre, which has been based in the county for more than 60 years. We have seized this opportunity by developing a truly skilled workforce, not only in the cyber security sector but also in other related areas like software development, retail innovation, virtual reality, gaming and more.
As a county, we continue to significantly invest in cyber and digital business development and are launching Cyber Central, the country’s first dedicated cyber business park, within the next four years, providing opportunities for established cyber-tech companies and incubation space for start-ups.
The county’s dedicated cyber-tech educational facilities, including C11 Cyber Security and Digital Innovation Centre, SGS Berkeley GREEN and the University of Gloucestershire’s School of Business and Technology, ensure a key focus in STEM subjects and provide a world-class pipeline of talent through a focus on research, knowledge exchange and training across all age groups and abilities.
Gloucestershire has been chosen by the Department for International Trade to be showcased as a world-leading cyber cluster through the High Potential Opportunities (HPO) programme. The HPO digital summary is now available via DIT’s Investment Atlas and can be found here. You can also view the full HPO document here.
Cyber Central
Gloucestershire has recently unveiled its plans to add Cyber Central to its already strong cyber-tech offer.
This vibrant cyber park, the first of its kind in the UK, is planned to launch fully in 2023, and will host the National Cyber Innovation Centre – a dedicated facility that will harness government, academic and private sector resources to further develop the UK’s capabilities in cyber-tech.
The park will also host a cyber campus with research and education facilities, a skills and visitor centre, an incubation area for local start-ups, and sufficient space to accommodate larger cyber companies that will benefit from business synergies and easy access to a rich pool of talent.
More than £50 million has already been secured towards this exciting new project.
Hub8
An innovative co-working space for the cyber industry, Hub8 opened its doors to local businesses in September 2019. As well as providing space for start-ups, Hub8 also represents the broader cyber community in the county, providing excellent networking opportunities, access to business support solutions, and investment and funding advice for businesses at each stage of growth. Hub8 was launched in association with CyNam, a non-profit organisation with the goal of bringing the best minds in tech from across the UK and beyond to Gloucestershire.
Our cyber community
Gloucestershire offers a base to some of the world’s largest defense firms, such as Raytheon Technologies, BAE Systems and L3TRL Technology. It also boasts a vibrant SME community and high-value start-ups in the cyber-tech sector.
Together with neighbouring counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Gloucestershire is part of what’s dubbed ‘Cyber Valley’, an area with a high concentration of cyber security companies and one of the best locations in the UK for research, development and commercialisation of cyber security products and services.
Sectors
At Gloucestershire’s heart is a bourgeoning business community, comprising world-leading organisations, thriving start-ups and SMEs, skilled people and local authorities with the right outlook and commitment to help you succeed.