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Six Colchester tech companies feature in Essex Tech 50 2026

The Essex tech sector continues to grow from strength to strength, from billion pound investment in supercomputers in Thurrock, to local entrepreneurs taking that risk and starting their newest venture on a shoestring.

Today, Essex is home to an estimated 5,320 tech businesses employing over 20,500 people, a testament to its dynamic and growing ecosystem.

This third iteration of the Tech 50 shows the depth of growing and highly competitive businesses who are based in Essex. This year, we’ve also introduced individual awards to recognise truly outstanding contributors, a challenging task given the wealth of talent within our borders.

The Tech 50 has gone from a simple to list to a catalyst of competition within our county and acted as a springboard for those aspiring to be on the next cohort of Grow Essex Global. We hope the following businesses and individuals inspire you to innovate and grow, and to make you certain that Essex really is the home of innovation.

Colchester has a burgeoning tech sector and features strongly in  the Essex Tech 50 list this year:

Image credit: Ambitious Essex

Read more about Colchester’s Essex Tech 50 2026 companies:

Concurrent – Extraordinary Essex

iSite TV – Extraordinary Essex

Mammoth Creative – Extraordinary Essex

Marmoset – Extraordinary Essex

Merlin Cloud – Extraordinary Essex

Softvize – Extraordinary Essex

 

Digi Forum awards

Colchester’s new Digital Forum wins two construction awards

The Digital Forum on Queen Street has picked up two awards at the Constructing Excellence Essex Club Awards.

The team behind the development were recognised with Building Project of the Year and Conservation & Regeneration winner .

Horizon Construction Group and Inkpen Downie Architects and the Daniel Connal Partnership, all based around Colchester, played key roles in the project which has transformed a complex historic site into an ultra-modern business hub for the digital companies and freelancers.

Image credit: Horizon Construction

Read more: Colchester Digital Forum in Essex wins two national awards | Gazette

 

firefighter apprentices scaled

Colchester Institute Celebrates Outstanding Apprenticeship Achievement Rates

Colchester Institute is celebrating a fantastic set of apprenticeship results for 2024/25, achieving an impressive 72.9% apprenticeship achievement rate. This means nearly three-quarters of apprentices successfully completed their apprenticeship programme, placing Colchester Institute 7.5% above the national average and marks an 8.1% improvement on last year’s performance.

Colchester Institute also recorded outstanding results across several individual subject areas including Construction, Engineering, and Mechanical and Electrical Services. Most notably, the Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician apprenticeship achieved the highest outcomes in the country, with a 90.3% achievement rate, significantly outperforming the national average of 44.2%.

These achievements mean the College is now ranked 6th nationally among large FE colleges for apprenticeship achievement, a significant milestone for the region.

Image credit: Colchester Institute

Read more: Outstanding Apprenticeship Achievement Rates – Colchester Institute

B&B award this one

Colchester Gift Retailer Wins National Award for Innovation

Popular Colchester gift retailer, Bill & Burts, has won a national award for Best Retailer Initiative at the recent National Gift Retailer Awards.

Bill Nettelfield runs gift shop Bill and Bert’s in Sir Isaac’s Walk alongside business partner Sarah Charlton.

The business beat five other nominees from across the country to win Best Retailer Initiative at The Greats Gift Retailer Awards on May 14 in London.

The Award recognised the shop’s innovative approach for its ‘What’s In The Box?’ videos which it started posting weekly on social media over the last few years.

Image credit: Bill & Burts

Read more:Bill and Bert’s Colchester win award for viral videos | Gazette

 

 

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Students unveil bold new vision for Colchester’s iconic ‘Jumbo’ Water Tower

Students from the University of Essex’s Edge Hotel School have come up with ideas for the future of Colchester’s iconic Jumbo Water Tower, delivering bold new suggestions that impressed project leaders.

The Victorian water tower, affectionately known as ‘Jumbo’ locally, is currently undergoing a multi-million refurbishment, led by The Balkerne Tower Trust.

The consultancy project challenged students to develop creative proposals for the historic structure, building on earlier calls for fresh ideas to transform the much-loved site. Rising to the task, the group went beyond the original brief, proposing that Jumbo should become a destination restaurant, The Balkerne Bistro, rather than a traditional events venue.

Image credit: Edge Hotel School, University of Essex, Wivenhoe House Hotel

Read more: Students unveil new vision for Jumbo Water Tower | University of Essex