Looking for a tech job in London? What the 2026/27 hiring numbers tell us.

Fast-growing scale-ups are still expanding and starting pay can reach £40k or higher, but navigating this job market requires separating headline hype from reality.

If you are looking for work in the UK tech sector right now, the broader economic background can look daunting. Graduate and entry-level vacancies across the wider economy dropped in 2025 to lows not seen since the pandemic, and economists have warned that UK unemployment could climb to an 11-year high in 2026.

Yet, within the UK's fastest-growing private technology scale-ups, hiring has far from dried up. Data from the latest Sunday Times 100 Tech ranking reveals that 81 of the 100 ranked companies plan to expand their teams in 2026. Across the cohort, these businesses are aiming to bring on 4,300 new recruits over the next 12 months, building on a collective workforce of 23,300—up by 11,600 over the past three years.

For jobseekers in London especially, the capital remains the beating heart of this activity. But understanding where the opportunities actually are—and what the figures really mean—is key to landing your next role.

London is still the main hub (by a mile)

London accounts for 57 of the 100 companies in the index, with 39 of those building software. The capital is home to the league table's overall number one, the AI-powered lending platform Abound, alongside battery storage specialist Zenobēand clean-tech firm Fuse.

Beyond London, high-growth clusters thin out quickly:

• Southeast England claims 13 firms (with nine based in Oxfordshire, including satellite developer Open Cosmos).

• East of England accounts for 11 companies (including six in Cambridgeshire, home to Cycle Pharmaceuticals).

• Northwest England has five firms.

• Northern Ireland has four (including catalyst tester Catagen and payment platform MiFinity).

• Scotland features three (including rocket-launching service Skyrora).

• The Midlands has two (Biocomposites and Cerca Magnetics).

• Wales has one (Reacta Healthcare).

• Yorkshire and the Northeast recorded zero represented companies.

A quick reality check: These figures represent high-growth scale-ups qualifying for this specific private index. They do not mean there are no tech jobs in Yorkshire or the Midlands, nor do they capture established tech giants or non-qualifying employers. But they do illustrate that early-stage and scale-up capital continues to congregate heavily in and around London.

What entry-level pay looks like in 2026

For junior candidates, the compensation numbers reported by these scale-ups show solid ground:

• The Baseline: The typical entry-level salary reported across the survey starts at about £40,000, with more than half of the firms starting their junior pay at or above that mark.

• The High-Pay Outliers: A handful of firms report significantly higher starting pay. London-based AI voice assistant company PolyAI reports entry-level software engineer salaries reaching up to £100,000. Fuse in London and MiFinity in Belfast offer junior roles up to £60,000, while Cambridge-based Cycle Pharmaceuticals advertises junior roles between £70,000 and £100,000.

• The Broader Spectrum: While these six-figure junior packages grab headlines, they are rare exceptions. The bulk of remaining companies offer pay between £30,000 and £40,000, while 14 companies report entry-level bands of £25,000 to £30,000 (roughly in line with the national living wage).

AI isn't killing junior roles—but volatility remains

One of the big fears among graduates and career-switchers is that generative AI will wipe out junior engineering and operational roles. Interestingly, the survey offers reassurance: 80 per cent of responding companies said AI tools had not reduced their entry-level hiring, with only 20 per cent indicating a reduction.

Julian David, chief executive of industry body techUK, points out that ongoing hiring "reflects not only strong confidence in the UK’s digital capabilities, but also the increasingly central role technology plays across every part of the economy."

At the same time, jobseekers shouldn't view tech as immune to market pressure:

1. Global Big Tech: Major international tech firms shed roughly 122,500 roles in 2025 (down from 152,900 in 2024 and 264,300 in 2023), proving that even mature players adjust headcounts quickly.

2. Scale-Up Funding Risks: Fast growth can reverse. London legal AI startup Robin shed a third of its staff in late 2025 after missing fundraising targets and subsequently sold its core business to peer Scissero.

3. Sector Pivots: Major infrastructure firms are restructuring from network building to operational profitability. CityFibre has reduced headcount from a peak of nearly 2,000 in 2022 to 1,550 today, while Community Fibretrimmed its team from 930 in 2023 to 560.

Where the hiring plans are strongest

Several individual scale-ups across AI, fintech, digital health, and green energy have shared aggressive hiring ambitions:

• Synthesia (AI video avatars, valued at over $2bn) plans to add 50 people.

• Cleo AI (AI personal finance) aims to more than double its 410-person global workforce.

• Lindus Health (clinical trial platform) expects to hire 150 people in 2026—more than its prior three-year hiring combined.

• Open Cosmos (satellite technology) plans to recruit over 100 people.

Keep in mind: these stated hiring targets are company-wide expansion ambitions across all seniority levels, not guaranteed London-based vacancies or dedicated graduate tracks.

Company headcount and 2026/27 hiring plans

To give you a concrete snapshot of current team sizes and self-reported hiring targets, the table below compiles disclosed workforce figures and 2026/27 recruitment plans from a cross-section of 50 qualifying UK companies.

Note for jobseekers: This is a UK-wide supplied dataset, not a London-only vacancy list. The source data does not provide a location column for each row. Headcounts reflect total reported employees, and hiring targets represent organization-wide aspirations rather than confirmed open job postings.

Company	Industry	Number of employees	Plans to hire for 2026/27
Carmoola	Digital car finance	61	up to 10
PolyAI	AI voice assistants	260	100
Zen Educate	Education staffing platform	346	100
Huma	Medical devices & services	401	100+
Inventus	Clinical trials devices	60	20+
Zilch Technology	Lending fintech	260	n/a
Sessions	Food delivery platform	58	25–35
Hyperexponential	Insurance pricing software	220	25–50
BondAval	Credit insurance	40	28–39
Lottie	Care home marketplace	70	35
Reincubate	AI video enhancement	18	5
Lindus Health	Clinical trials devices	217	150
Carbon Clean	Carbon capture technology	170	6
Moneybox	Personal finance fintech	441	n/a
Zenobē	Battery storage and EV fleets	331	30
CityFibre	Fibre broadband provider	1,550	n/a
Flagstone	Savings fintech	362	50
floLIVE	Connected devices technology	182	10
Creditspring	Lending fintech	133	60
Zinc	Employee screening	130	40
Veremark	Employee screening	154	60
Community Fibre	Fibre broadband provider	560	36
Vertice	AI procurement platform	300	100
Synthesia	AI video creator	556	50
Stream	Property platform	230	120
OneDome	Industry unclear in supplied extraction	151	15
ANNA Money	Business accountancy services	223	45
AScan.com	Medical imaging services	194	40–50
Sokin	Payments platform	157	190
Peppy Health	Employee benefits platform	91	5–10
Payhawk	Spend management software	450	42
Juro	AI legal services	92	unclear
Vitesse	Treasury and payment insurtech	260	50
Gravitee	Software API manager	173	unclear
Verne	Data center provider	154	40
Giraffe360	Real estate visual technology	200	30
Osprey Charging	EV charging network	68	12
9fin	Corporate debt analytics	373	n/a
Yoti	Digital ID provider	453	20
HeliosX	Digital pharmacy	1,059	300
TrueLayer	Payments fintech	250	unclear
MAGIC AI	AI personal trainer	17	unclear
Chip	Investment and savings fintech	190	80
Abound	Lending fintech	131	50
Yoto	Children’s audio platform	204	50
Xelix	AI accounts software	120	30
XYZ Reality	Construction augmented reality	104	45
AutogenAI	Bid writing software	137	80
Fuse Energy	Energy supplier	242	150
Vision RT	Radiation therapy	393	45

(Data reflects company disclosures. Figures marked "unclear" represent malformed entries in the source extraction, while "n/a" denotes undisclosed hiring plans. An incomplete source fragment showing only "62" without company or industry details was omitted.)

Actionable takeaways for London jobseekers

1. Focus on high-conviction verticals: Scale-ups in clinical trials (Lindus Health), energy tech (Fuse, Zenobē), and vertical AI tooling (Synthesia, PolyAI, Vertice) are actively adding headcounts.

2. Benchmark your salary expectations wisely: While a £40k baseline is common among top scale-ups, don't let £100k outlier claims distort your expectations; ensure you evaluate the overall equity, benefits, and development potential of an offer.

3. Do your diligence on runway and business models: High growth can bring volatility. When interviewing with scaling firms, ask sensible questions about how the company is funded, their current runway, and how the role you are applying for contributes directly to long-term profitability.