Tech Nation to shut after funding row

CHARLIE CONCHIE

START-UP network Tech Nation is to be wound down after the government withdrew its funding and handed it to Barclays.

Tech Nation, founded by the coalition government in 2010, said it would cease operations from the end of March.

Bosses at the tech body said they were now exploring a sale of its assets and were inviting offers and discussions with interested parties.

Tech chiefs have slammed the move to grant Barclays the contract since it was first reported at the end of last year. The decision will offer one of Britain’s biggest traditional lenders huge sway over the fintech and tech ecosystems.

Questions now hang over the future of the visa programme run by Tech Nation on behalf of the Home Office, which connected international tech talent with fast-growth firms in the UK.

Tech Nation has processed over 6,000 Global Talent Visa applications since its inception and endorsed more than 3,000.

A Home Office spokesperson told City A.M. the future governance of the programme had yet to be decided.

“We will also take every available step to ensure that applicants already part of the Global Talent route are not disadvantaged,” they said.