Best UK tech stocks to watch
What are UK tech stocks?
UK tech stocks are shares of companies based in the United Kingdom which operate in the technology industry. They operate in various subsectors, including software-as-a-service (SaaS), artificial intelligence (AI), fintech (financial technology), semiconductors, cybersecurity, telecommunications, and e-commerce.
While the country does enjoy a number of larger tech firms, the valuations don’t come anywhere close to the US. For example, the largest UK tech stock is arguably Wise with a market capitalisation under £10 billion — while the US enjoys multiple multi-trillion-dollar tech companies, including Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple.
However, this does mean the UK stocks may have much larger growth potential and often trade at lower price-to-earnings ratios making their valuations more attractive on a fundamental basis. Further, while the US companies tend to reinvest all profits into growth, several UK tech stocks like Sage or Softcat instead pay out regular dividends, which is attractive to passive income investors looking for exposure to the sector.
UK tech stocks — by dint of their smaller size — also tend to excel in a specific niche and are commonly spun out of world class universities including Oxford and Cambridge. This often makes them buyout targets for larger players once they scale to an appropriate size. In addition, for UK-based investors, they can be more tax efficient to invest in because while you will pay stamp duty there are no currency conversion costs.
On the other hand, there are some downsides. UK tech stocks are limited in scale, and the smaller companies can be thinly traded compared to the US giants. The companies are also competing with the US for both employees and capital, and due to their high capex requirements are highly sensitive to interest rates and fundraising sentiment.
How to invest in UK tech stocks with us
- Learn more about UK tech stocks
- Download the IG Invest app or open a share dealing account online
- Search for your desired stock on our app or web platform
- Choose how many shares you’d like to buy
- Place your deal and monitor your investment
Investors look to grow their capital through share price returns and dividends - if paid.
But the value of investments can fall as well as rise, past performance is no indicator of future returns, and you could get back less than your original investment.
For investors seeking exposure to diversified tech stocks, we offer the SPDR MSCI World Technology UCITS ETF, which tracks the performance of global developed technology sector companies — including some listed in the UK — with a reasonable expense ratio of 0.3%.
Best UK tech stocks to watch
These are some of the largest UK-listed technology stocks as of April 2025. It’s worth noting that there is some subjectivity to exactly what constitutes a ‘tech’ stock — for example, while Rolls-Royce employs cutting-edge technology, it is not a tech stock in the traditional sense.
Sage Group (LON: SGE)
Sage Group is a leading provider of enterprise resource planning software, and specialises in accounting, payroll, and payment systems for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company serves over 6 million customers across 23 countries, offering both on premise and cloud-based solutions to help businesses manage their finances, operations, and people.
Over the past few years, Sage has transitioned towards a subscription-based model, generating continual recurring revenue. Sage enjoys a global presence and strong brand recognition within the SME sector, but also suffers from the intense competition from newer, cloud-native competitors, which has pressured the company into investing heavily in its cloud transformation efforts to maintain market share.
Darktrace (LON: DARK)
Cambridge-based Darktrace is a cybersecurity company which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect and prevent cyber threats in real-time. Its flagship product, the Enterprise Immune System, mimics the human immune system to identify foreign attacks and potential threats within an organisation's network. Darktrace serves clientele across multiple sectors including finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure.
Darktrace has an almost unique cybersecurity offering, making it arguably irreplaceable in specific use cases. However, it’s also spending heavily on marketing to drive customer acquisition and global expansion, which is continuing to impact profitability.
Softcat (LON: SCT)
Softcat is an IT infrastructure provider which offers a comprehensive range of services to both companies and the public sector, including software licensing, hardware procurement, managed services, cloud computing, cybersecurity, networking and end-user computing. Softcat enjoys long-established partnerships with leading tech firms including Microsoft, Cisco, and Dell.
Softcat is well-known for its customer-centric approach, so sports very high customer satisfaction and retention rates. Conversely, it has a limited international footprint, with operations primarily concentrated in Great Britain, potentially restricting longer-term growth.
Spectris (LON: SXS)
Spectris is a supplier of precision instrumentation and controls used across various industrial applications, including quality control, measurement, and monitoring. The company operates through several platforms, such as Malvern Panalytical and Omega Engineering, serving sectors including life sciences, automotive, electronics, and materials analysis.
Spectris combines hardware, software, and data services to help customers improve their efficiency. Its key strength is possibly its diversified product portfolio, alongside heavy research and development spending, leading to high-margin, specialised products. Nevertheless, the stock is also highly exposed to cyclical industrial markets, making it susceptible to economic downturns when customer spending falls.
Renishaw (LON: RSW)
Renishaw is a global engineering company specialising in metrology and additive manufacturing (3D printing). The company provides high-precision measurement tools and sensors for the aerospace, automotive and healthcare industries. Renishaw is also known for its neurological diagnostic and treatment technologies.
Renishaw has a strong intellectual property portfolio and in-house manufacturing capabilities, which together support strong profit margins. However, like Spectris the stock is reliant on capital-intensive industries, which are sensitive to economic fluctuations.
Ocado (LON: OCDO)
Ocado specialises in robotics and automation solutions for the online grocery retail market. While it operates its own brand online grocery delivery service in the UK, the lion’s share of revenue comes from licensing the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) to international retailers. The OSP includes advanced warehouse robotics, proprietary software, and end-to-end logistics systems designed to improve e-commerce operations.
This automation technology is practically an industry standard in grocery fulfilment and has attracted partnerships with major global retailers. Conversely, the business has a well-publicised ongoing struggle with profitability, as its substantial research and development investments and high operational costs weigh on margins.
Auto Trader (LON: AUTO)
Auto Trader operates the UK's largest digital car marketplace, connecting car buyers with sellers through its online platform. The company offers data-driven tools for pricing, advertising, and managing vehicle inventories, and serves both consumers and dealerships.
Originally a print magazine, the company now benefits from strong network effects and brand recognition. Auto Trader has a dominant market position and a high-margin digital advertising model, which provides steady revenue — but it’s also highly dependent on the cyclical automotive market and dealer advertising budgets.
Kainos (LON: KNOS)
KainosKainos is a digital transformation company offering IT consulting, software development, and cloud-based solutions. It operates through three divisions: Digital Services, Workday Services, and Workday Products, helping organisations modernise older legacy systems. Kainos is a leading Workday implementation partner in Europe and works extensively with the UK government on public sector digitalisation.
This niche specialisation in Workday and government IT projects provides strong recurring revenue and long-term client relationships — but is perhaps a double-edged sword as revenue is highly concentrated ion a handful of large clients.
Computacenter (LON: CCC)
Computacenter is a leading provider of IT infrastructure services, including consulting, cloud solutions, software resale and managed services. The company operates across Europe and North America, serving both large corporations and governments with end-to-end digital transformation support. Its business spans the full IT lifecycle—from initial procurement and integration to long-term support and operations.
This scale, backed by strong partnerships and a reputation for reliable, enterprise-grade service delivery across multiple markets is arguably attractive to growth investors. However, there is some margin pressure in its hardware reselling division which remains vulnerable to pricing competition and any supply chain disruptions.
GB Group (LON: GBG)
GB GroupGB Group is a specialist in digital identity verification, fraud prevention and location intelligence services. Its technology allows organisations to onboard users securely, comply with basic regulatory requirements like KYC and AML, and reduce the risk of identity fraud. GBG has a global footprint, supporting clients in financial services, e-commerce and governments.
Its proprietary data assets and global coverage allow it to carry out accurate and fast identity verification at scale — but equally, the stock is also exposed to regulatory shifts and changing data privacy laws, which are expensive to respond to, and can limit access to datasets as jurisdictions changes the rules.
UK tech stocks summed up
- UK tech stocks are shares of companies based in the United Kingdom which operate in the technology industry
- While the country does enjoy a number of larger tech firms, the valuations are much lower compared to the US
- UK tech stocks may have much larger growth potential than those listed elsewhere and often trade at lower price-to-earnings ratios
- They tend to excel in a specific niche and are commonly spun out of world class universities including Oxford and Cambridge
