About Leeds

About Leeds

Leeds is the UK’s third largest city and economically the fastest growing.

Leading the way for investment and growth, it

is at the heart of one of the strongest regional economies outside of London,

is the UK’s top-performing city for business scale-ups

has the most active regional venture capitalist fund

welcomes and supports businesses to thrive and grow.

Leeds is culturally diverse, richly creative and perfectly located, with easy access to the famously stunning countryside that is Yorkshire, the largest county in the UK spanning 2.9 million acres.

Located at the heart of the UK’s Northern Powerhouse, Leeds has superb transport links nationally and internationally.

A leading city for digital, data and tech industries, it is also headquarters to the world’s largest healthcare system – the NHS, and its academic research is globally-leading.

Its dynamic new Innovation Arc is creating a world-class hub for research, innovation and technology in health and life sciences.

The forthcoming, state-of-the-art new hospital development will transform healthcare for the region is forecast to create 4,000 jobs and bring economic benefits of £13 billion for the city and region.

Leeds’ strong and diverse talent pool includes 75,000 students, many of whom are among the region’s 17,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates each year.

With a collective ambition to be the best city in the UK in which to live and work, this is a city working in partnership to

  • accelerate health innovation
  • harness research excellence
  • pioneer health technologies
  • welcome and support businesses
  • power economic growth
  • welcome and foster talent
  • develop new cultures and ways of working, and
  • include everyone.

"Leeds is a brilliant city - the fastest growing in the UK and in a recent Top 100 global trailblazer cities for innovation. Much of its success is because we put our Team Leeds ethos into practice and work across sectors to innovate. That is, to keep innovation, partnership and inclusion at the heart of everything we do."

UK’s 3rd largest city, with

Strong and growing economy

3rd largest and fastest growing city in the UK

One of the top UK cities for high-growth companies

Top city for business start ups

Part of the 15 million people in the Northern Powerhouse.

A £40m global innovation community

Strong, simple, connected health and care system

1 partnership across health and care

3 NHS Trusts, together providing care in mental health, in the community and – via one of Europe’s largest teaching hospitals trusts – highly specialised care. 

60,000 people employed  across health and care

Collaborating via

unique citywide online learning

Digital and data powerhouse 

A world-leader in AI          

Home to more than 3000 digital and data companies

Hosts one of the world’s first digital pathology cooperatives

Academic excellence and strong talent pool

3 major universities

World leading health research

Home to one of the top 3% of European universities

One of the UK’s largest further education colleges

Welcoming around 75,000 students

Part of the region’s 17,000 STEM graduates per year

UK’s 3rd largest cohort of digital analysts

National headquarters

Home to the world’s largest, single health system, the NHS

Part of West Yorkshire,

one of the strongest regional economies outside of London, with

£60bn GVA

Investment growth in healthtech businesses from £2m to £30m
(2018 – 2023)

600 health and life sciences firms, 250 medtech companies, 65 
digital health firms

and more than 190,000 people working in this sector

Part of a £160m West Yorkshire Healthcare and Digital Tech Investment Zone

17,000 STEM graduates per year

Contact us

Whatever your interest in Leeds’ health and care research and innovation we can help you navigate it.
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