Brighton and Hove is swinging again - and it is being propelled not by visitors but by a blend of hard-headed business and small-scale creative art.

A new report unveiled last night at the Sallis Benney Theatre, in Grande Parade, sets out a radical shift in the way we will work in the future.

It has found the creative, digital and tech sector in the city comprises 1,495 businesses.

The digital sector is worth a huge £713 million per year to Brighton’s economy – in comparison, the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership estimates that tourism generates £750 million per year to the economy.

The average digital firm is growing at over 14% a year, and the median growth rate for the sector is 3.8% per annum. Over the same period the UK’s GDP grew by 0.7%.

Researchers

The Brighton Fuse project was delivered by Wired Sussex, the universities of Brighton and Sussex, and the National Centre for Universities and Business. It featured a large team of researchers collecting, collating and analysing data, stories and experiences.

It is one of the most detailed analyses of any industry ever undertaken in the UK.

Phil Jones, managing director at Wired Sussex, said a new formula for success has emerged in the digital economy and for Brighton and Hove.

He believes that to benefit from the city’s new economic drivers, there needs to be fundamental change to the way we understand and support the creation of jobs and services. Business, he believes, must be “fused” (see box).

He said: “This research provides clear factual proof of the significant value the creative and digital sector now generates for this city. That’s important because, unlike other sectors of our economy like tourism and retail, it is largely invisible.

“These findings should help the city to attract more talent, clients and investment and – hopefully – prosper further. The research also points to the challenges around growth for individual businesses and should enable key local institutions like the universities and the council to develop appropriate policies. I hope the sector continues to provide good, interesting and worthwhile employment opportunities to our young people now and to our younger people in the future.”

Jim Byford, boss at Red Design in Jew Street, was one of the researchers on the Brighton Fuse, as well as being a partner in one of the companies to participate in the research.

Established

He said: “Brighton has a big tourism sector which employs lots of people – likewise financial services. What we now know is that it also has a big, established creative, digital and IT sector which not only creates jobs, but provides the conditions for its people to establish and grow businesses. We need more ‘fused’ individuals who understand technology and can creatively work with it. This has implications for what and how children learn at school and how the universities create expertise fit for the future.

“We’re making good progress here with a lot of optimism – sustaining it will significantly contribute to the economic and cultural foundations of the city for years to come.

“Brighton has its own set of cultural and commercial assets – largely its people. What the research shows is that arts and humanities graduates are as likely as science and tech graduates to create enterprises here.

“So Brighton is a great place to create things – and many come here to study arts and humanities and go on to create businesses, not feeling the need to go to science parks in other parts of the country.

“Brighton and Hove is leading the way with this research – it’s a leadership position in terms of how we understand the creative and digital economy.

“The Brighton Fuse report shows strong commercial growth in a recession, hundreds of small and medium businesses innovating in significant ways and some exporting their expertise and products and services internationally.

“As a long-term resident and business owner, employee and freelancer over the years, I know the creative, digital, IT scene in Brighton has been an important source of employment in the city for some time.

“What we didn’t know was how big – hundreds of companies, how much it was growing – way above average and GDP figures, and also how it was connected into the fabric of the city, such as the culture and education sectors.

“We also found a really strong sense of pride in Brighton as a location, which gives the sector strength as a cluster with collaboration between firms a really important dynamic.

“This means very small firms come together when they need to and often punch above their weight to win business over competitors from London and elsewhere internationally.

“Working out how to capture the value in the form of licences, royalties and so on is more of a challenge but some, such as the games companies and app creators in the city are showing the way on this front.”

Tony Mernagh, executive director at the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: “Digital is not a sector. It is a sea change, a revolution in the way that every business will do business. The fusion of arts and humanities through digital clusters will lead to fantastic innovation and new business opportunities. Indeed the fusion of just about any discipline you care to mention with digital will lead to new business opportunities. The world as we know it is changing at breakneck speed, and digital is the catalyst. A priority for any business should just be to keep up.”

Sam Hewitt is one of the young digital pioneers drawn to Brighton by its cutting-edge attitude.

He helped to create atmospheric interactive sculptures and installations during the Brighton Digital Festival.

He said: “Nearly all of these artists are enlisting the help of the audience to make the artwork. They are all asking questions about what form art might take, given the new technologies available. The new techniques available to this generation of digital artists can change the experience of the art-going public overwhelmingly for the better.

“The Brighton Fuse report highlights that the advent of efficient digital technologies has driven down the costs of starting up new firms. The scaled-down way of operating finds a perfect fit in the area’s rewarding life styles.”

As one director of a digital company quoted in the Brighton Fuse report said: “I think quite often you get a type of person living in Brighton for a start. For instance, people tend to be quite creative, people tend to be very open-minded and liberal, and we’re renowned for that.

Practices

“That’s certainly something I share in common with most of the people I’ve worked with in the years I’ve worked in Brighton. So I think that is at the very heart of our business, but in terms of actual business practices, yes, of course because we’re first and foremost a creative company.”

The city by the sea continues to draw dreamers intent on creating tomorrow’s reality.