High-tech entrepreneurs get cash boost from UK government

The UK government is due to unveil incentives for high-tech companies this week, in a white paper on competitiveness.

Although details are tightly under wraps until Wednesday, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary of state, Peter Mandelson, said the policy would encourage an entrepreneurial culture in the UK.

Sources at the DTI said the white paper would cover most areas of the economy. Mandelson will use the US as a model for a knowledge-based economy. He aims to set up links with schools and businesses to encourage clusters of high-tech expertise and new skills.

Businesses can expect a reshuffle of the DTI's £1bn budget, as a result of technology's rising status. But reports that large-scale relocation expenses will be cut in favour of incentives for start-ups have not been confirmed.

Robert Conway, Global Financial advisory leader for the technology industry at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the UK had a long way to go. "We are still far from the entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley," he told Silicon.com. "They have entrepreneurs coming out of the universities - and they want people to succeed."

Conway expects the white paper to include tax breaks for people investing in new companies. "Serial entrepreneurs will be encouraged to reinvest in new companies, and I think this will help," he said.

But he said the most important thing was cultural exchange. "Young entrepreneurs and MBA students should work on exchange programs in the US," he said. "That's the only way to change our culture to one of success, and it's not something the government can legislate for."