Introducing the new poster boy for Gloucestershire tech firms

In a sector that likes pioneering spirits there's a new tech champion for Gloucestershire – no, not in Cheltenham, but an old hand from Gloucester reemerging to steal the show and lead the way.

Dear reader,

I hope your week is going well. Welcome to Thursday’s edition of The Raikes Journal ahead of Friday’s full-members edition.

As long-standing followers of Gloucestershire’s fortunes Fasthosts’ move into the Forum Digital in Gloucester struck us as hugely significant for the city and for the county too.

It nicely counterbalances the opening of the Hub8 MX centre in the middle of Cheltenham last year, a new home of cyber-focused firms.

Fasthosts’ move proves Gloucester can do just as well as its friends down the other end of the Golden Valley, if not better, not just in terms of the scale of the vision but in delivery too.

And it amused us here at Raikes to stand back and think about it for a moment - Gloucestershire’s most high profile tech firm of the moment is a business that was born and bred in Gloucester, and its most high-profile development (for all the right reasons) is in the city centre too.

Does it not feel like a real shift in the city’s fortunes and status - or is i…