More than half of companies based in London now claim to be digital content or digital service providers, according to research by Oxford Economics on behalf of Virgin Media Business.
Digital companies, now making up 54% of London’s entire economy according to the report, collectively grew their revenues by an average of 4.4% last year, that’s compared to overall UK economic growth of 2.6% in 2014.
Over the next two years, the 371 companies surveyed from London, of just over 1,000 contacted nationwide for the report, expected 171,000 jobs to be created across the city’s entire digital ecosystem.
But they also admitted that approximately 41,000 jobs might be lost in the region.
The ‘UK’s £92bn Digital Opportunity’ report also claims that if London tech companies had “access to the best digital capabilities available”, a constant headache for startups in East London and beyond, the city’s economy would benefit from a further £48.5bn in total revenues made by these companies each year.
Commenting on the report, Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates, said: “Today’s report comes as no surprise to those working within London’s tech sector as we see digital disruption sweeping across the city’s traditional industries.
“As an example, London’s tech experts believe it will be the retail industry that produces the capital’s next billion-dollar technology company. Technology has broken out of Old Street and is driving revenue, jobs and innovation from Canary Wharf to Croydon.”