Britain has more unicorns than anywhere else in Europe

Unicorns are breeding in Britain. The country is now home to more than a third of European unicorns (tech companies valued at over $1 billion), but the whole of Europe is faring well.

A new report by GP Bullhound, an investment banking firm, reveals that there are 47 unicorns in Europe and 18 of them are to be found in Britain. The number of European unicorns has jumped by more than 20 percent in the last year, and the overall valued is placed at $130 billion (around £90 billion).

Despite the seemingly high valuations, nearly half of the companies on the list fail to turn a profit, and some previous entrants have fallen off the list -- Powa has gone into administration for instance. Many of the big names -- streaming service Spotify, and Angry Birds developer Rovi -- are not pulling in money.

While the likes of Asos, Transferwise and Zoopla have proved themselves in Britain, others such as Anaplan and Blippar have felt the lure of the US. While founded in Britain, these are just two of the companies that have relocated to San Francisco.

GP Bullhound co-founder Manish Madhvani said:

There has never been a better time to operate within the European market. I firmly believe that the right ecosystem now exists for one of the companies highlighted in this report to push forward and reach a $10bn valuation in the next few years. With time, Europe could even produce its first $100bn tech company.

Europe has yet to reach the dizzying heights of American giants such as Facebook and Google, but when you look at businesses in the $1bn to $3bn range, what we lack in quantity we more than make up for in terms of quality. All the data points towards a stable, maturing market that has avoided the excesses of the US in favor of sustainable growth. We are seeing a remarkable resilience in European technology markets.

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