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Highlights

  • London’s tech market spans software, data analytics, fintech, platforms, and automation, not just the formal FTSE Technology sector.
  • 2025 has seen resilient growth from core names like RELX, Experian, and Sage, alongside strong upgrades from IT resellers.
  • Listing shifts and take-privates, including Wise and Darktrace, continue to reshape London’s technology roster.
  • AI monetization, macro sensitivity, and capital-markets reform are key themes to watch over the next 12–24 months.

If you think “FTSE tech” begins and ends with Sage, you’re missing the real story. London’s market hosts a surprisingly broad technology footprint—spanning pure-play software, data & analytics, digital marketplaces, fintech, automation, and IT infrastructure—alongside a long tail of specialist names on the FTSE 250 and AIM.

2025 has been a year of contrasts: heavyweight compounders like RELX and Experian continued to deliver steady growth, IT resellers upgraded guidance in a tight macro backdrop, while other parts of the ecosystem—cybersecurity and semiconductors in particular—saw take-privates, relocations, and strategic reviews. Below is a practical tour of the FTSE technology landscape: who’s here, what’s driving results, where the pressure points lie, and how to frame the next leg of developments.

What “Counts” as Tech on the FTSE?

London’s index classification can be unintuitive. Some of the most sophisticated “tech businesses” in the UK sit outside the strict ICB Technology sector. Data platform operators (RELX), credit analytics firms (Experian), and digital marketplaces (Auto Trader, Rightmove) are technically classified under media, financials, or industrials. Conversely, the formal Technology bucket includes software, IT services and distributors, communications tech, and hardware manufacturers.

A more practical approach is to think in capability clusters, grouping businesses by what they do rather than where they sit in the index:

  • Software & SaaS: Sage (SMB accounting/HR/payroll), Bytes (software/security/cloud distributor with a growing services arm), Kainos (digital transformation and healthcare IT), and infrastructure resellers like Softcat and Computacenter. Sage’s subscription transition is largely complete, and AI-led products like Sage Copilot are now part of its mainstream offer.
  • Data, analytics & decision tools: RELX and Experian remain the benchmarks. Both embed AI into their products, enabling richer risk and identity tools and allowing them to compound growth through up-selling.
  • Digital platforms & marketplaces: Auto Trader and Rightmove are market-dominant platforms benefiting from network effects and pricing power. Their revenue can ebb with housing and auto cycles, but margins remain structurally high.
  • Fintech & payments: Wise is both a consumer-facing app and a B2B infrastructure provider through Wise Platform. Its primary listing shift to the U.S. made headlines and sparked debate about London’s ability to retain scaled tech companies.
  • Infrastructure & communications tech: Gamma Communications continues to grow in UCaaS and telephony across Europe, generating reliable cash flow.
  • Automation & e-commerce technology: Ocado’s robotics and software solutions for grocery fulfillment keep the UK represented in automation, albeit with more cyclicality than pure software peers.
  • Deep tech & life-science tools: Oxford Nanopore is a rare listed UK deep-tech name, steadily diversifying its revenue and execution.
  • Semiconductors & specialty hardware: IQE remains strategically important for compound semiconductor epitaxy, but 2025 has been a year of strategic review and potential sale exploration.

Add in moving pieces—Darktrace’s take-private by Thoma Bravo, Spirent’s pending acquisition by Keysight—and you get a sense of how fluid London’s tech roster has become.

2025 So Far: Who’s Executing, and Where Are the Cracks?

Durable Compounders Kept Compounding

RELX reaffirmed full-year guidance, pointing to robust adoption of AI-enhanced tools across its risk, legal, and scientific divisions. Its model remains consistent: embed analytics into customer workflows and increase value over time. Experian posted an 8% constant-currency revenue increase with margin expansion, underscoring its resilience and shift toward software-based decisioning. These names form the steady core of London’s tech presence.

IT Resellers and Services Firms Surprised Positively

Softcat has been one of 2025’s quiet winners, upgrading operating profit expectations multiple times and guiding to mid-teens growth. Bytes posted record sales as demand for security, AI, and cloud projects accelerated. Computacenter also guided positively across Q1 and summer trading updates. These companies benefit from vendor-driven channel incentives, customer consolidation, and recurring services layered onto resale.

Platforms Remain High-Margin, but Sensitive to Sentiment

Auto Trader reported rising engagement and expanded data products for retailers, while Rightmove flagged slower growth in H2 despite strong H1 revenues. These platforms remain dominant but are tied to macro drivers such as transaction volumes and sentiment in housing and auto markets.

Automation’s Push Toward Cash Generation

Ocado reported a sharp improvement in adjusted EBITDA in H1 2025 and reiterated its objective to be cash-flow positive in 2025/26. The shift away from moon-shot investments toward monetization has been a notable change, but volatility persists as partner roll-outs can accelerate or delay cash-flow inflection.

Deep Tech and Semiconductors: From Promise to Pragmatism

Oxford Nanopore narrowed losses and reaffirmed growth targets, benefiting from diversified demand across clinical, academic, and industrial markets. IQE, meanwhile, faced another year of strategic reviews and management changes, with media reports suggesting a sale may be under consideration. The story highlights the capital intensity and cyclical nature of the semiconductor value chain.

The Elephant in the Room: London’s Tech Listings

Two structural developments have shaped 2024–2025: take-privates and overseas listing moves. Darktrace’s exit and Wise’s decision to shift its primary listing to New York reignited debate about London’s ability to compete for global tech names. The question is whether these are isolated events or part of a trend that could thin the FTSE’s tech roster further. Market structure reforms—stamp duty review, dual-class share flexibility, index composition tweaks—are under discussion but will take time to influence outcomes.

The FTSE’s technology segment is broader and sturdier than headlines about listings leakage suggest. London still hosts global leaders in decision analytics, subscription software, and network-effect platforms, complemented by IT services firms that act as a barometer for enterprise tech demand. Around the edges, deep-tech and automation provide optionality but require careful milestone tracking. The next phase for FTSE tech will likely be defined by AI monetization, the success or failure of market-structure reforms, and whether London can attract or retain its next generation of scaled tech names. The ecosystem is diverse, capable, and still evolving—making it one of the most dynamic segments of the UK market in 2025.