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I’ve been asked – about 40 times in the last six months – whether we plan to re-HQ the business to the US. It sparks a broader conversation: why, beyond missing tea and crumpets, we aren’t crossing the Atlantic.

There are good reasons the UK is still a haven for serious engineering – especially when you’re building embedded systems, sensors, and safety-critical software.

Let’s say it upfront: the US is unbeatable at software scale. Silicon Valley wrote the playbook on cloud, open-source, and billion-user platforms. But hard tech is different. When you need to build systems that survive the real world – in a field, on a frigate, or in an ambulance – Britain still plays.

Here’s why I think there are reasons to be optimistic (and action-oriented).

1. Requisitioning Space Marines on a UK Gov Budget

The UK punches above its weight on talent. Our universities – Imperial, Bristol, Southampton, Newcastle and others – consistently turn out smart, systems-aware engineers.

And salaries here are more manageable.* You don’t need to raise $50m to spin your first PCB.

That said, risk appetite is lower. We produce cautious accountants, not maverick founders. That helps in mission-critical work – but it can slow things down and a ctrl+c/v  of the Silicon Valley playbook doesn’t work.

*Senior engineering talent in the UK is often 30–50% cheaper than the US, especially outside London.

2. Industrial Infrastructure That Still Exists

The UK still has a manufacturing base. Precision machining, electronics, prototyping, testing – it’s all here. We didn’t chase every tech trend. And in hardware-software integration, that’s a strength. From aerospace to sensing, we’ve quietly kept the flame burning for high-reliability systems.

Sure, scale is patchy but if you’re building early-stage products that need to work in the real world, the UK holds its own.

3. Build Once, Customise Anywhere Pragmatism

We obsess over platform scalability when setting up engineering operations: tools, teams, infrastructure. But we often overlook something just as critical: import/export regimes.

If you’re building modular systems – especially with dual-use components, sensing tech, or autonomy features – you’ll hit regulatory gates sooner or later. This is where the UK quietly shines.

The system isn’t perfect, but it’s pragmatic. Export controls are applied case-by-case, not with sweeping categories. That means you can support regional customisation without rebuilding your platform from scratch – scaling out from a stable base. I’m not a geo-politics kind of guy, but the reliance on America is real, and we need to be reshoring (and fast).

4. More Building, Less Briefing

The UK doesn’t lack ideas. What we’ve lacked is momentum and risk capital.

There’s a new generation of companies solving real problems in autonomy, secure compute, sensing. We need capital flowing into sectors that matter: energy, healthcare, and defence. Stuff that keeps the lights on and people safe.

Governments can set the direction, but they should stop spending money trying to build hard tech. Incentivised private companies are what will build things quick and we need to back them – with conviction.

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It’s water under the bridge. Just a brief moment where we lost our way. Slides over systems. Optics over output.

Michael Jordan: 1995

Lego: 2010

Yeovil Town FC: 2013

It’s time for a comeback and this one’s got steel toes and safety certs.