Sean Duffy, the managing director of Barclays Technology, Media & Telecoms team, has called for further expansion outside of London in the wake of costly office space and quality of life.
A survey conducted by the bank revealed that 70% of tech firms planned to increase wages in 2014, with 40% struggling to find skilled employees, a finding that is consistent with a recent report from Tech London Advocates.
"With space and costs at a premium, a lack of talent isn’t the only problem facing London’s tech sector," Duffy said. "Now, there are plenty of other places in the country poised to stake a claim as the innovation capital of the British Isles."
A report from the EU Commission named London as the second strongest tech hub in Europe, with Munich taking the top spot. Cambridgeshire attained fifth place overall, with Edinburgh and Oxfordshire also performing well.
Duffy noted that London tends to offer higher wages, but when cost of living was considered employees could be attracted to other parts of the country where better quality of life was more affordable.
"It is the universities that often act as the catalyst for innovation and have played key roles in developing regional technology hubs," he said.
"There is now an opportunity to create a network of highly connected, highly specialised regional tech hubs in the UK that take advantage of local talents and resources."
