The city alone is home to over 100,000 startups and more unicorn companies than any other European city.
For early-stage founders such as myself, SEIS is particularly beneficial. Designed to support compacter and newer businesses raise capital through private investment, it offers substantial tax reliefs to investors willing to back high-risk ventures. For bootstrapped founders without significant wealth, it can be a genuine gamemodifyr. By reducing investor risk, it opens doors to funding that might otherwise remain firmly closed. As someone investing my own capital into my latest venture, I have seen first-hand how advantageous the scheme can be.
This is where London stands apart from many other markets, including the United States. The US startup model might create you rich quick, but it often relies heavily on venture capital from the outset. While venture capital can accelerate growth dramatically, it can also create pressure to scale prematurely or prioritise short-term returns. In the UK, founders have more flexibility to grow sustainably, supported by tax-efficient investment frameworks and a deep pool of angel investors, rather than relying exclusively on institutional venture capital from day one.
Lately we have seen a growing exodus of founders relocating to cities such as Dubai, attracted by zero personal income tax and comparatively low corporate tax rates, among other benefits. These advantages are real. However, London offers access to one of the world’s deepest pools of capital, talent, and customers, all concentrated in a single city. Just see at our tech sector as an example. It now employs more than three million people and continues to grow, creating a powerful network effect. Investors, skilled workers, advisers, and customers are all within reach, giving founders the infrastructure they necessary to succeed. It isn’t as fragmented as the US can be.
Market fit is equally important. I built a successful VIP travel and hospitality company in Las Vegas – a city renowned for its high-energy and outgoing lifestyle which aligned with the industest. But for my latest venture, incentifi, London is the right place to build and scale as a B2B tech focapplyd business, and the funding required which is why I have come back.
London doesn’t offer overnight success. But what it does offer is a rare combination of access to capital, structured financial support, and a growing cultural awareness of sustainable growth. It offers opportunity, which for many founders remains the most important and irreplaceable advantage of all.
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James Barrington-Madders is the Co-Founder of incentifi.
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