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Two or three clusters, read side by side across sectors, research, companies, capital, infrastructure, government designations and UKIZ relevance. There is no score and no ranking: British clusters are different from one another, not better or worse than one another.

Choose up to three clusters

Side by side

Dimension	Nottingham & DerbyEast Midlands	Southampton & PortsmouthSouth East	Leeds & West YorkshireYorkshire and the Humber
Sectors	Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Mobility & Transport Technology Supporting: Advanced Materials, Digital Technologies, AgriTech & FoodTech	Defence & Security, Robotics & Autonomous Systems, Advanced Manufacturing Supporting: Clean Energy, Digital Technologies, Advanced Materials	Life Sciences, Digital Technologies, Financial Technology Supporting: Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Manufacturing, Creative Industries
Research	University of Nottingham	University of Southampton National Oceanography Centre	University of Leeds
Companies	Not recorded on the map.	Not recorded on the map.	Leeds health data and digital health cluster
Infrastructure	Not recorded on the map. Propulsion and nuclear engineering facilities, rail test capability and chemistry research centres.	Not recorded on the map. Naval and maritime engineering facilities, photonics research centres and port infrastructure.	Not recorded on the map. Health data infrastructure, teaching hospitals and university research facilities.
Capital	Corporate and supply chain finance; limited venture activity.	Prime contractor supply chain finance and public programmes rather than venture capital.	Financial services depth locally, but early-stage health technology capital remains limited.
Government programmes	East Midlands Investment Zone — Investment Zones East Midlands Freeport — Freeports	Solent Freeport — Freeports	No place-based designation recorded.
What exists	Aerospace propulsion and small modular reactor engineering, rail technology, sustainable chemistry research and one of Europe's busiest air freight hubs.	Maritime, naval and defence engineering, marine autonomy, photonics research and a major port and logistics complex.	National health data organisations, medical technology, a large financial and professional services base and a research university with data and materials strength.
What's missing · UKIZ interpretation	Diversification of the supply chain beyond a small number of large primes, and company formation from a strong engineering research base.	Routes for smaller innovators into defence and maritime procurement, and a civil market for capability developed for defence customers.	A clear route for companies to work with health data at scale, and clinical adoption pathways that move faster than pilot projects.
What could connect · UKIZ interpretation	Propulsion and nuclear engineering connected to Sheffield manufacturing research and Midlands electrification — one Midlands industrial mission rather than three sectors.	Marine autonomy and photonics connected to Plymouth marine capability, Bristol robotics and offshore energy operations — the same technologies serving defence, energy and shipping.	Leeds health data capability connected to Manchester clinical research and to medical technology manufacturing, giving companies discovery, evidence and production in one region.
UKIZ relevance	Propulsion and nuclear capability sit alongside the Midlands mobility mission. The proposed Midlands zone connects them.	Marine autonomy is where defence, robotics and clean energy meet. The proposed Cornwall & Devon marine mission connects to this capability directly.	Health data at population scale is a national asset. The proposed Manchester mission and Leeds capability are complementary rather than competing.
Last verified	15 August 2026	15 August 2026	15 August 2026

Proposed by UKIZ · independent · not a government designation

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