'What drives everything we do is the people': Northern Ireland innovation hub ranks seventh in the UK and earns top honours for workspace and lab facilities in Europe
Ranked first on the island and seventh in the UK by the Financial Times, Sifted and Statista, Catalyst also earns top European recognition for its cutting-edge facilities
Belfast’s Catalyst has been ranked as the leading start-up hub on the island of Ireland and one of the top 10 hubs in the UK in a special report produced by the Financial Times, tech news platform Sifted and specialist data provider Statista.
Catalyst is an independent, non-profit innovation hub focused on creating opportunity for all and supporting entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland by working with start-up founders to de-risk and accelerate the commercialisation process.
The research placed Catalyst 7th in the UK and first among start-up hubs on the island of Ireland. Additionally, Catalyst is recognised as 1st in the UK and 5th in Europe for the quality of its workspace and lab facilities, rising three places from 8th in 2025.
With 2,900 desk spaces and dedicated lab facilities across its three NI hubs, Catalyst is the only non-London UK hub in the European top ten start up hubs for workspace.
Among the factors incorporated into the ranking process were the provision of mentoring and training; infrastructure, including offices, labs and software; legal assistance; business development advice; networking opportunities; funding opportunities; and the level of cost and equity taken.
Other hubs in Ireland which made the list included NovaUCD and Furthr, both in Dublin. The strength of the start-up support ecosystem across the island of Ireland is reflected in having multiple hubs recognised at a European level.
Steve Orr, chief executive officer of Catalyst said: “We are hugely encouraged to be ranked amongst the top start-up hubs in the UK, and particularly pleased to be highlighted as the top start-up hub on the island of Ireland. It is validation that the support we provide to founders in Northern Ireland is making a genuine difference in their entrepreneurial journeys.
“We enable innovators to build repeatable revenue engines by putting market proof before product, making scalable entrepreneurship more achievable for more people.
“We are excited to continue working alongside Northern Ireland's talented founders, industry, funders and policymakers to help more high-growth ventures reach their potential. We would also like to congratulate our friends in Dublin, NovaUCD and Further on their inclusion.”
Fiona Bennington, director of Entrepreneurship and Scaling of Catalyst explained: “Validating ‘Proof Before Product’ is also how we make entrepreneurship more accessible. When founders validate customer demand before committing to building, they reduce risk, build confidence, and this opens the door to people who may never have considered starting a business.
"At Catalyst, we have seen founders move quickly from problem to paying customer on very little capital, proving and unlocking potential at a pace that simply would not be possible under the traditional build-first model.
“What drives everything we do is the people. The entrepreneurs we work with are an inspiration, fuelled by a genuine desire to make the world a better place. For us, this recognition is ultimately a celebration of them.”
The FT’s Europe’s Leading Start-Up Hubs ranking, now in its third year, assessed 180 hubs across 25 countries. To qualify, hubs were required to have operated since at least 2021, maintain a physical European location, and run at least one incubation or acceleration programme. The views of investors, entrepreneurs and academics were considered alongside alumni feedback on mentoring, infrastructure, legal assistance and funding support.
The ranking can be found here.