Brighton & Hove is a very much a forward-thinking and creative city. It is home to two leading Universities, a Medical School and is the first city region to be designated a UNESCO biosphere in 40 years. Brighton has an unusual mix of seaside, countryside and culture, so combined with good connections to Gatwick Airport & London and a well-educated workforce; it makes it an excellent place to do business.

Brighton is becoming increasingly known in for its strengths in four key economic sectors: Digital, Cultural & Creative, Environmental Industries and Health & Life Sciences:

Digital

Brighton’s creative-tech cluster has emerged from nothing over the past decade and is now one of Europe’s most creative and vibrant clusters with over 1,500 high-value businesses. Brighton’s businesses include: Relentless Software, iCrossing UK, Plug-in Media, Epic Group plc, Brandwatch, Brilliant Noise and Crunch Accountancy.

The strong local digital community is often cited as one of the reasons for success and local associations, such as Wired Sussex have been pivotal in establishing this thriving environment for businesses and individuals alike with over 2,800 members.

Research also identifies a new category of high growth firms within this cluster, that are ‘fusing’ and ‘superfusing’ to create a competitive edge. Fused businesses are those that combine creative art and design skills with technology expertise. The two universities play a vital role in this - The University of Brighton has a strong tradition in art and design so there is a steady supply of arts graduates. The University of Sussex has a global reputation in the humanities and informatics.  

Notable areas within the Digital Sector where Brighton excels are:

• Digital advertising & marketing
• Gaming
• App & software development
• Data management & analytics

BrightonSEO which is now the largest SEO event in the UK and Develop: Brighton which attracts more than 1,500 games developers from more than 20 countries around the world.

Culture & Creative

Brighton as a city exudes creativity and has one of the highest rates of engagement in culture amongst residents. The sector has grown considerably in the last 10 years and now employs over 16,000 people. You can find out more about Brighton's Cultural & Creative communities on the Culture in our City website. 

Brighton is also home to England’s largest annual arts festival which takes place each May (Brighton Festival), as well as Brighton Fringe festival which is the second biggest in World. There is also a cluster of other significant activities and festivals which are part of the Brighton calendar including Artists Open Houses, CineCity, Brighton Photo Biennial, Made in Brighton and The Great Escape, which The Times has said is “the best place in Europe to discover new bands”.   

Hove is known as the ‘birthplace of film’ and during the Edwardian era several of the key pioneers lived and worked here, including William Friese-Greene, Esmé Collings, James Williamson and George Albert Smith. Brighton has also made quite a few star turns in front of the camera, most famously in Quadrophenia or Brighton Rock.

Academically, the University of Brighton has a world-renowned reputation which dates back to the Nineteenth century when the Brighton School of Art was established. It boasts famous alumni and previous teachers including Barbara Hulanicki (from Biba), Julien Macdonald (fashion designer), Raymond Briggs (author of The Snowman) and Antony Gormley (Turner Prize-winner). 

Today, the University of Brighton has built and retains a central position of international importance in Arts & Humanities and has an unrivalled reputation in the critical and historical research of design. It is also a major centre for visual and material culture.

There is also a huge crossover with the Digital Knowledge Hub, as research shows a critical driver of innovation and growth in the creative and digital economy is in the world of ‘fusing’ – the combination of creative arts and design with technology. Brighton excels in both areas which is one of the reasons why it has been identified as a one of Britain’s ‘creative hotspots’.

Environmental Industries

Brighton’s coastal location, natural assets and progressive population make it an attractive location for environmental businesses. Brighton has the UK’s first Green MP and the City Council has a Sustainable Buildings planning requirement for large new developments to be net zero-carbon.

The City’s environmental businesses include Ricardo, a leading global multi-industry engineering provider of technology, product innovation and strategic consulting; SeaRoc, which provides specialist products and services to the Offshore Renewable Energy Sector; EDF Energy, one of the leading energy companies in the UK; and Elektromotive, a leading provider of technology and engineering solutions across the globe for electric vehicle recharging stations.

Both Universities have world-class expertise in this area. The Sussex Energy Group, at the University of Sussex, undertakes inter-disciplinary research to identify ways of achieving the transition to sustainable, low carbon energy systems. The University of Brighton also has a research focus on Sustainable Construction and Environmental Planning and a Centre for Sustainability of the Built Environment. One of the projects undertaken by the University of Brighton is the Waste House, which has been drawing headlines around the world since construction began in May 2013. It is a ‘living laboratory’ for ecological architecture design and is thought to be Europe’s first permanent public building made almost entirely from material thrown away or not wanted.

Recent and Future Investment in the region:

• Ricardo have invested £10 million in a Vehicle Emissions Research Centre (VERC) at their headquarters in Shoreham-by-Sea. The new centre is one of the world’s most advanced emissions test facilities, designed to accommodate the development requirements of the next generation of more environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient road-going vehicles.
• E.ON are currently investing in the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm . Once complete, the power from the turbines is expected to supply the equivalent of up to 290,000 homes each year for the lifetime of the project and could avoid the emission of almost 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
• September 2015 saw the opening of UTC@Harbourside in Newhaven which specialises in marine and environmental engineering and will be teaching the inventors, engineers and scientists of tomorrow in creating a sustainable future.

Health & Life Sciences

The University of Sussex has a world-renowned reputation for life sciences, which is one of the University’s largest academic facilities and boasts two previous Nobel-prize winning scientists, Sir Harry Kroto and Sir John Cornforth . It is known for its ground-breaking research into conditions such as cancer and neurodegeneration, as well as driving major advances in areas such as ecology and conservation, neuroscience and drug discovery. The specialist research centres include the Genome Damage and Stability Centre, the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, the Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre and The Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics.

The University of Brighton specialises in education and research in the fields of pharmacy, biology, biomedical sciences, chemistry and ecology. The two universities came together to create The Brighton & Sussex Medical School in 2002 - a joint initiative which is one of the most popular in the country with students.