The report identifies 53 British Hurun Unicorns, in addition to 45 Hurun Gazelles and 39 Hurun Cheetahs. Hurun defines a Unicorn and Future Unicorn (Gazelle or Cheetah) as startups from the 2000s, not yet listed and worth at least US$1bn (Hurun Unicorns), or most likely to go unicorn’ within three years (Hurun Gazelles) or five years (Hurun Cheetahs).

The combined values of the British Unicorns identified by Hurun accumulate to $172 billion, tripling from $54 billion in 2020, marking the UK out as an increasingly growing hotspot for innovation and wealth creation. The UK’s future Unicorns – Gazelles and Cheetahs – are today worth $46 billion.

London is home to the highest proportion of British Unicorns and Future Unicorns featured, with nearly 80% of the startups (108) from the capital, followed by Cambridge (6), Oxford, and Bristol (3 each).

London is the Unicorn Capital of Europe as the city with the most Unicorns and Future Unicorns on the continent and the 5th leading Unicorn city in the world, placing it above rivals like Paris and Berlin. The value of the London-based Unicorns featured in the Hurun Index is $160 billion, underpinning the city’s position as Europe’s business capital and a thriving hub of investment for startups.

The average age of the founders of the Hurun Unicorns, Hurun Gazelles, and Hurun Cheetahs is 49 years old, four years older than the average age (45) of the founders featured on the Hurun Global Unicorns Index 2024. 

Hurun Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said: “The UK is the best place in the world for Unicorns outside of the US, China and India, showcasing that Britain is a magnet for entrepreneurs from around the world, complimenting the extensive homegrown talent already present in the country.

The UK performs exceptionally well compared with the EU for Hurun Unicorns, Hurun Gazelles and Hurun Cheetahs, with the UK’s 137 Unicorns and Future Unicorns accounting for 59% of the EU’s 232 Unicorns and Future Unicorns. Having proven its competitive entrepreneurial spirit on the global stage, the biggest challenge to the UK’s startup ecosystem is the pull of the US, which can write bigger cheques and offer a bigger market than the UK can.” 

For the Hurun Cheetahs, just under half of the founders were born outside of the UK, mainly from Europe but also from India and the US, suggesting that the UK is a magnet for talent from across the world.

The Hurun UK Unicorns and Future Unicorns Index 2024 features well-known British Unicorns such as BrewDog, the craft beer brewery and pub chain valued at $1.2 billion and founded in 2007 by Martin Dickie and James Watt, who recently launched a TV show to rival Dragons Den, after the pair were rejected by the show in 2008.

Energy provider Octopus Energy is the most valuable UK Unicorn founded by someone born in the UK, set up in 2015 by Greg Jackson, James Eddison and Stuart Jackson, and valued at $7.8 billion. This year Octopus Energy overtook British Gas to become Britain’s largest household energy supplier and is growing in value.

The fintech sector is the best represented part of the economy, accounting for 52 (38%) of the startups across the UK Unicorn, Gazelle and Cheetah lists, including the most high value company on the list, Revolut. The digital money management service was founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, surging to a value of $45 billion in 10 years and is now a top 10 most valuable Unicorn in the world.

Healthcare is the second largest pool of Unicorns, Gazelles and Cheetahs in the UK, with $3 billion Cambridge-based CMR Surgical leading the sector with its robotic surgery systems that are shaping the future of hospital surgery, thanks to its founders Luke Hares, Mark Slack and Martin Frost.

There is also a strong representation for the e-commerce sector, led by Gousto and its innovative recipe box delivery service, founded by James Carter and Timo Boldt. 

Hoogewerf added: “I hope this report on the UK’s Unicorns and Future Unicorns can inspire individuals to drive value creation in new sectors and for the UK to recognise the importance of unicorns to its future economy.

Hurun is committed to promoting entrepreneurship and value creation through lists and research, and our first Hurun UK Unicorns and Future Unicorns Index offers examples for aspiring entrepreneurs to follow, with multiple startups founded in the UK surpassing the $1 billion marker in 10 years.”

Hurun Research found 3,184 Unicorns and Future Unicorns in the world, with the UK taking fourth spot accounting for 4.3% of the world's total, behind the US, China and India. 

Data is drawn from the Hurun Global Unicorns Index 2024, the Hurun Future Unicorns Global Gazelles Index 2024 and the Hurun Global Cheetahs Index 2024. Valuations are as of April 2024. 

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