Crescent Capital - Venture Capitalists in Belfast Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland comprises the six north-eastern counties of the island of Ireland. It is part of the UK and, as such, is within the European Union of more than 500 million consumers (BEUC – European Consumers Organisation). The region has a population of 1.74 million and 46% of the people are under 30 years old. The education system places a strong focus on maths and information technology and it has consistently out-performed the rest of the UK with over 60% of all high school graduates going on to universities or colleges that specialise in technical skills.

The quality of the research facilities at local universities is demonstrated in nationally recognised centres of excellence in fields such as electronics, information technology, medical engineering, biotechnology and many others. To date NI universities have spun out over 50 companies across a breadth of sectors but with a particular bias towards software and life sciences.

The economy in Northern Ireland has been very healthy over the last ten years and continues to demonstrate good growth. The unemployment rate in the North during the latest quarter (May-July 2008) of 4.4 per cent was lower than the equivalent UK rate of 5.5 per cent and the Republic’s rate of 5.7 per cent for June 2008. Furthermore, seasonally adjusted figures from the latest Government statistics show that there were a record 786,000 employed in Northern Ireland in the three-month period to July 2008 (DETI).

The region has attracted a broad range of high quality foreign direct investment from companies such as Nortel, Du Pont, Fujitsu, BT, Liberty Mutual, Northbrook, Caterpillar, Openwave, Abbey National, HBOS, Citigroup and many more.

In summary Northern Ireland is a region with a young, well-educated, available workforce; a world-class digital telecommunications infrastructure; low labour and operating costs; excellent networks of business services, suppliers, and university research centres; and a pro-business government. It is a good place to invest!