From deep tech to high finance, why Leeds is luring companies north

theguardian.com:

Move to Leeds and benefit from the jobs boom, says Melissa Berthelot, boss of medical appliance maker WarnerPatch, who relocated her business from London two years ago to benefit from a burgeoning deep tech industry in the West Yorkshire city.

With skilled data science and software engineers in short supply across the south-east – and most other parts of the country – Leeds has proved a happy hunting ground for Berthelot, an engineer turned chief executive who used the first lockdown to make the jump north.

Deep tech refers to sectors including artificial intelligence, robotics and bio-technologies. Its Blade Runner-like image may seem worlds away from the Emmerdale village tour on offer just west of town, but Leeds is managing to straddle old and new as it jumps up the UK rankings for job creation and productivity.

The city has gained a reputation for developing the skilled staff and financial muscle needed to fund startups and innovation, especially in healthcare, but also in the city’s more traditional areas of expertise – financial and legal services, manufacturing and retail.

That reputation has seen major employers including the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority opening offices there, and the new UK infrastructure bank choosing Leeds for its headquarters.

According to law firm Irwin Mitchell’s latest UK Powerhouse report, produced by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), Leeds will be one of the few northern cities to improve in terms of job creation by the end of 2023.

While soaring energy costs and a Brexit-related dearth of skilled workers is forecast to put a dampener on GDP growth in most of the country in the second half of this year, Leeds is expected to buck the trend. It will