UK Space Agency’s Size and Health Report Indicates 44% Increase in Revenue in Space Sector across South East Region
Last week the UK Space Agency released the latest Size and Health report on the UK space industry. The report is the primary source of evidence used to track the growth of the UK space sector and is an important resource used for government decision making, whilst informing the delivery of the National Space Strategy.
The report was undertaken by BryceTech an analytics and engineering company, with a long history of partnering with science and technology clients, and a specialism in the space sector. They discovered that UK Space-related organisations produced £16.5 billion in income in 2019/20, an incredible feat given the challenging economic circumstances of the year.
The report identifies that the South East hosts 450 space organisations, by far the most of any region (bar London), as well as contributing £4.2 billion to the UK economy, and nearly 10,000 jobs! It’s an incredible feat to see our space ecosystem thriving despite the global impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Simon Potter, Head of Investment & Financial Consulting, BryceTech says:
“Data from the 2021 edition of the Size & Health of the UK Space Industry confirms the South East’s position as a critical contributor to the UK space economy.
The breadth and diversity of organisations and activities in the region mean that the South East is representative of the UK space enterprise as a whole, with significant participation across upstream and downstream segments, and by industry, academia, and government stakeholders.
Additionally, the region also benefits from close proximity to end-users and a broad array of customers from outside the space industry – as well as access to investors, and a diverse and skilled talent pool.”
This advancement recognises the important role played by the South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, based at the Technopole in Portsmouth, which champions space opportunities in the region and connects businesses and academia, bringing new expertise into the sector.
The centre, which is supported by the Satellite Applications Catapult and UK Space Agency, draws on the South East’s considerable network to develop collaborative projects; link expertise; identify and attract funding; share information and further provide network opportunities.
We spoke to two local leaders in space to hear their thoughts on the Size and Health Report:
Zoe Bowden, Head of Procurement, SSTL
“The South East has been home to SSTL since we started out nearly 40 years ago, so it’s wonderful to see that this region has been recognised in the ‘Size & Health of the UK Space Industry 2021’ as being the biggest contributor to UK space industry income, employment and organisation density today. The South East has a well-established and diverse space network and galvanising these strengths through investment and support will help us share and collaborate with other UK regions, and serve to accelerate towards the achievement of the growth ambitions of the UK space industry as a whole.”
Keith Robson, Interim Head of Space South-Central
“Space South-Central is a newly formed regional initiative, originally instigated by Enterprise M3 LEP, with the primary objective of increasing the speed of growth and inward investment in the Space Sector across Surrey and Hampshire above the target levels set in the National Space Strategy. So, we greatly welcome this latest report on the Size & Health of the UK Space Industry which demonstrates the scale and vitality of the sector as well as highlighting the volume of activity taking place within our region, second only in scale to Greater London. Space South-Central will be increasing levels of engagement in four main areas of focus, Space Missions, SME Supply Chains, Skills Training, Space Communications and 5G. As well as capitalising on the region’s extensive existing Space assets we intend to bring in many more innovative companies who have only just started to explore commercial opportunities in this market.”
To summarise the report highlights the exciting growth we are seeing in the UK Space Sector, growth that has not been dampened by recent events. And the South East region is raring to go, with a huge range of organisations dedicated to both the upstream and downstream parts of the sector. At the South Coast Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, we are excited to continue working with our region in order to see further growth next year.