Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Nick Baker, Barclays Commercial Bank

With its well known science parks and hundreds of scientists working on diverse research initiatives, it is no wonder that it is home to a number of successful high profile technology companies such as Cambridge Silicon Radio, ARM, Domino, Amino Technologies, Napp and Acambis to name just a few.

In fact, around 6 per cent of all listed technology companies in the UK are based in or around the Cambridge area, providing a wide range of technology products and services, from the development of silicon IP to intelligent search applications.
Amongst early stage technology companies, finding funding against the backdrop of economic uncertainty has arguably become more challenging. However VC investment within certain sectors remains high.

According to Library House, investment across European Tech & Telecoms companies rebounded strongly to approximately 700m Euros in the first quarter of this year, after a marked slowdown towards the end of 2007. Sectors benefiting from this renewed interest included communication equipment, systems & services and the content & media sectors.

With climate change and rising oil prices increasingly on the agenda, ‘clean’ technologies that aim to improve energy efficiency and reduce consumption, such as Cambridge’s own CamSemi, are also garnering attention.

At the other end of the spectrum, corporate activity in the sector has held up well so far in 2008, with only a slight reduction in mergers and acquisitions from the peak at the beginning of 2007. In particular, a flurry of bids announced for IT & software specialists focussing on the public sector attracted a lot of the Tech M & A press in recent months, such as IBS Opensystems and Anite.

However the fact that not all went through to completion still indicates some cautiousness.

Cambridge University and its colleges continue to provide a platform and impetus for technology development, as does Addenbroke’s Hospital and associated research facilities.

So given all this, is Cambridge the place where dreams come true and new companies are born? Undoubtedly, the answer has to be ‘yes’ given the county’s past track record, but like all dreams they need a little help to get started.

Richard Redman, Barclays Commercial Bank

Of course, making dreams come true in the current economic conditions can be challenging, but we are still actively seeking good quality companies to lend money to. So if you have a good quality, well-run business then you will not have any difficulty raising the right level of finance.

Barclays has not changed the rules for lending and we are very proud of the fact that we are able to offer our customers consistency, and continue to help to make Cambridge a success today and in the future. 

• For additional information, contact one of our dedicated relationship team in Cambridge: Nick Baker on Tel: 07775 544 302 or Richard Redman on Tel: 07766 363 658.