MID-market technology companies in the Cambridge sub-region saw their values fall by only two per cent in the second quarter of 2010.

MID-market technology companies in the Cambridge sub-region saw their values fall by only two per cent in the second quarter of 2010.

That ompared to a decline of 13 per cent for FTSE 100 tech stocks and four per cent for the national average of mid-market non FTSE 100 companies in the sector, according to the latest Technology Index from financial and business advisers Grant Thornton.

The Technology Index tracks the performance of 142 UK-listed technology-related companies, excluding those on the FTSE 100 and Micro Cap companies, of which 20 are in the Cambridge technology cluster area.

Niki Dixon, technology partner at Grant Thornton in Cambridge, said this week: “Technology stocks are holding up well in the face of continued market volatility. This reflects the fact that the sector tends to be first to recover from periods of recession.

“We are seeing a revival in the appetite for mergers and acquisition in the sector as well as signs of sustained interest from overseas.

“Although the pound has strengthened against the dollar when compared to the early part of the year, US investors continue to seek out opportunities in the UK and the region.”

The eight FTSE 100-listed technology companies saw their values decline in Q2 2010 with the greatest falls in valuations being -29 per cent for Invensys, -8 per cent for Vodafone Group and -6 per cent for Cable and Wireless.

Against this pattern, companies such as Bango and Amino Technologies have seen significant increases in their share price during 2010.

Cambridge success Arm Holdings was the only sector FTSE 100 player to buck the trend significantly, seeing share value increase by 16 per cent. The semiconductor company supplies chipsets for the iPhone and was boosted by strong sales for the newly launched iPhone 4.

Niki Dixon added: “Businesses in the Cambridge hi-tech cluster are benefitting from the explosive growth in Internet-based and wireless-based applications, and this is only set to increase as consumers and businesses require ever greater flexibility from technology.”