INSIGHTS / News

SETsquared has been ranked as the top university business incubator in Europe for the third year running.

SETsquared, which is the partnership between the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey, was recognised alongside some of Europe’s best performing university business incubators, including PoliHub Startup District & Incubator at the Polytechnic University of Milan and INiTS Universitäres Gründerservice Wien at the Vienna University of Technology.

Over the last 13 years, SETsquared has helped over 1,000 hi-tech start-ups to develop and raise more than £1bn of investment, as well as contributing over £3.8bn in GVA (Gross Value Added) to the UK economy.

The European ranking announcement took place at the Incubatore di Imprese Innovative del Politecnico di Torino in Turin this morning, at the end of a two-day event that saw SETsquared’s innovation director Simon Bond present to the continent’s top incubators on university business incubation for accelerating growth.

Simon said: “We’re absolutely over the moon to be recognised alongside other top performing incubators by the UBI Index once again. It’s a real testament to the hard work, innovation and skill of everyone at SETsquared and our commitment to helping entrepreneurs and start-ups.

“SETsquared has progressed hugely since last year’s ranking, including opening a new hi-tech hub in Basingstoke, running innovation programmes for the NHS and UK Space Agency and winning awards for the work we have been doing with our members, so it goes to show just how vital our services are in each area we operate in.”

The UBI Index is the first global index to benchmark the performance and best practice of university business incubators. The organisation is holding continental rankings around the world, culminating in a global ranking event in London next month.

Dhruv Bhatli, Co-founder and Director of Research at UBI Global, said: “We’re delighted to see SETsquared hit the top spot in Europe for the third time in a row. The partnership’s continued dedication to entrepreneurs and start-ups has resulted in high economic impact and growth for the companies it supports.”

SETsquared will find out where it stands in the world rankings on 25 November.