London is our hi-tech rival, says NY mayor Michael Bloomberg

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has admitted that the success of London’s Silicon Roundabout is a major concern.

Hi-tech start-ups — often based around the Old Street roundabout — such as Moshi Monsters, last.fm and Swiftkey have enjoyed huge global success, and Mr Bloomberg said the capital’s emergence as a technology powerhouse was threatening New York’s attempt to take on California’s Silicon Valley. “Our competition is only going to be in other cities that have similar kinds of characteristics. And the city that comes to mind is London,” he said at a seminar at law firm Proskauer’s New York office.

He said immigration issues were driving people to the UK and said London was family friendly and spoke “the business language of the world”. Mr Bloomberg hopes to share in the capital’s success — he is building a huge European HQ in the City and will be the next chairman of the Serpentine Gallery when his mayoral term ends this year.