The City of Edinburgh is a top attraction for university spinouts, coming just behind London and Oxfordshire for the most spin outs since 2011.

This is according to a new report from the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub, which tracked the rise of university spinouts across the country.

Spinouts are companies ‘spun’ from products and services developed through university research which is then commercialised via enterprise funding.

Edinburgh is home to 78 spinouts since 2011, with a majority of the companies spun from local universities, including the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University.

However, companies from other universities also chose to set up headquarters in the Scottish capital, including those spun from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and the University of St. Andrews.

The report, titles Spotlight on Spinouts said that Edinburgh’s strong research institutions, funding ties, and access to top talent made it attractive to spin outs across the nation.

According to the report, this is especially true for Edinburgh’s life science sector. Life science spin-outs actually made up the most companies in the UK, with pharmaceuticals spin outs totalling 309, followed by research tools/reagents (279).

Other life science areas making the list included clinical diagnostics (147), medical devices (127), and materials technology (106).

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While Edinburgh city listed in the top three, the University of Edinburgh ranked a bit lower, at number eight with 60 spin outs since 2011.

Top universities for spinouts included the University of Oxford, Cambridge, and London universities, with the University of Edinburgh being the only Scottish university in the top ten.

“University spinouts play a crucial role in our economy and it is essential that we recognise both their successes as well as the trends within the sector,” Maria Dramalioti-Taylor, Enterprise committee member at the royal academy said.

“The government has recognised the key role that spinouts play in the economy, with the publication of the Science and Technology Framework committing to strengthening the spinout pipeline and the review of the UK spinout landscape seeking to identify best practice in turning university research into commercial success.

“The data presented in our annual report is a valuable part of the evidence needed to address these priorities.”