London-based PR consultancy Spreckley has pledged its support for Stirling’s City Deal, which aims to help the city build on its strengths to become a world-class centre for enterprise and opportunity.
Spreckley recently opened a satellite office in Stirling in order to capitalise on the exceptional growth currently taking place within the digital technology sector north of the border. Over the past five years, Scotland’s tech sector has grown at an astonishing rate (43.4 per cent over the last five years) second only to London, with increasing start-up activity creating a wide range of new entrants to the market within cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, as well as central Scotland.
The City Deal is an ambitious programme to position Stirling as an economic and cultural powerhouse within Scotland as well as globally. A key facet of the deal is to benchmark against the best cities internationally, by attracting and retaining talent and nurturing business growth. In order to achieve this the programme has a number of clearly defined projects which have been identified to drive growth and innovation into the city. Critically, one of those projects will see the creation of a Digital District.
Stirling is already home to over 70 tech companies. The aim is to build on this and provide a high quality and tailored space for digital tech firms to develop products, grow their business and collaborate with peers and academia. Designed to build rapidly on the existing skills of its businesses and workforce, the Digital District will put Stirling firmly on the map as one of the UK’s best areas for digital tech businesses.
Nick Bird, Spreckley’s Stirling-based Account Director commented: “The City Deal represents a fantastic opportunity to solidify Stirling’s position as a progressive tech hub of the future. If you look at what is going on in the city the foundations are already in place: notably, its excellent geographical position with easy access to other cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow, a continual flow of graduates that are educated to both a degree and Master level within core digital tech subjects, as well as access to a talented workforce skilled in qualifications above the national average. The creation of a Digital District will only excel this further and ensure that the city is able to not only retain its best and brightest, but also attract new talent and investment into Stirling.”
Stirling Council Leader Johanna Boyd said: “Stirling is an area with genuine opportunity for rapid growth in digital innovation and technology. Our plans for a Digital District in the heart of Stirling are a key part of our successful bid for City Deal funding and can help secure transformational change for Stirling and its surrounding areas.”