Founders Forum Group (FF Group) has formally acquired Tech Nation, which previously partnered with Lawtech UK to support digital transformation across the legal sector, including launching a Lawtech Sandbox.
The tender for the next phase of the Ministry of Justice led Lawtech UK programme, along with a £3m grant, was awarded in mid-March to Legal Geek and tech incubator CodeBase.
Tech Nation had already by that stage announced that it would cease operations in March, after the UK government pulled key funding, instead awarding the £12m grant to Barclays. The announcement sparked fears over the future of Tech Nation’s Global Talent Visa programme, run on behalf of the Home Office.
Tech Nation’s CEO Gerard Grech said in an announcement this morning (25 April) that the FF Group, led by Carolyn Dawson OBE, will continue to execute against Tech Nation’s mission to empower tech entrepreneurs, scale innovative startups and provide a united platform for UK tech founders.
Anyone interested in applying for a Global Talent Visa can continue to do so as normal. Under the FF Group umbrella, Tech Nation will continue to process applications while the Home Office identifies a new endorsing body to take this forward.
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Grech pointed out that Britain is now third in the world for tech investment after the US and China. The UK’s tech sector is valued at $1trn, having grown 16x in 10 years and employing five million people in tech across the country (2x in ten years).
Grech said: “More than one third of all tech unicorns and decacorns ever created in the UK’s tech history have graduated from a Tech Nation program and its alumni includes some of the biggest names in UK tech: Monzo, Revolut, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Ocado and Skyscanner, to name a few.”