London has risen to third place in a global ranking of ‘Tech Cities’ around the world for 2025, behind only San Francisco and New York.
This is according to the latest Savills Tech Cities Index, which ranks the top 100 tech cities in the world and saw London rise from fourth place to enter the top three places, with several other UK cities also making the list.
The index ranks tech cities based on their business and technology environments, talent pools, the strength and depth of their technology sub-sectors, and ‘buzz’ and wellness.
London performed especially well in terms of technology talent, featuring the highest concentration of top-ranked universities of all tech cities.
Savills said the city’s particular strengths lie in fintech, cleantech, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, which have helped it to attract more venture capital than any other European city.
London easily outstrips other European cities on the Tech Cities Index, with Paris ranking 15th, Berlin 19th, Stockholm 22nd, and Amsterdam 24th.
San Francisco tops the index thanks to its place at the epicentre of AI development, with New York featuring a more diverse tech industry with a deep pool of talent.
UK cities in the Top 100 Tech Cities Index
London is not the only city to rank among the world’s top 100 tech cities according to Savills’s research.
Both Cambridge and Oxford feature on the list, showcasing the concentration of talent in the UK’s most prestigious university cities.
The Oxford-Cambridge Corridor has become a key area of investment for the current government, with large funding packages announced to turn the area into ‘Europe’s Silicon Valley’ through the development of new infrastructure and expanding business opportunities.
Bristol and Manchester also appear in the rankings at 60th and 68th, respectively, showing that the UK’s tech talent is not only concentrated in the South but also extends to other regions of the country.
Below is the ranking of each of the five UK cities featured on the Savills Tech Cities Index:
- London – 3rd
- Cambridge – 37th
- Bristol – 60th
- Oxford – 66th
- Manchester – 68th
“The tech industry is undergoing major transformation due to AI. Despite the potential monumental advances being made, however, human capital remains tech’s most important asset, so city attractiveness matters to companies trying to recruit the best talent,” said Head of Savills World Research Paul Tostevin.
“The cities that appear high in our Index provide vibrant city living, cultural and lifestyle offerings, with many smaller cities (by global standards) – including those in the UK – punching above their weight.”
“For investors, landlords and developers, a high performing Tech City will see increasing demand for real estate in the form of more office space for tech occupiers, or housing that meets the need of a highly skilled, mobile workforce,” Tostevin said.
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