With Silicon Glen, Silicon Fen and Silicon-M4-corridor-without-a-snappy-moniker, there is plenty of competition to become the UK’s premier technology cluster.

Into that crowded market, Brighton is gaining ground and a reputation as a hub for IT, creative and media industries.

With a trendy reputation that appeals to creatives and mavericks, a younger population than the regional average and a well-educated workforce boosted by an uncommon number of university graduates that remain in the city after their studies, Brighton has all the attributes of a creative hub.

That is borne out by one of the fastest growth rates of output of goods and services in England.

Madgex, which builds magazine websites and online job boards for publishers, is typical of the emerging breed of Brighton technology and media start-ups that are coming of age.

Set up six years ago to build trade magazines online, it has developed a series of web-based applications including a particular specialism in online job boards.

Simon Conroy, chief executive, has seen turnover rise from about £400,000 two years ago to more than £2.5m this year.

He is now seeking “strategic partners” to help move the business up a level and release some value for the three founders. He said: “We are looking at some venture capitalists, some private equity or business angels that want to be part of the cutting edge of new media.”

Mr Conroy is enthusiastic about the expanding Brighton cluster that allows partnerships with, as well as sharing and cross-referring to, other innovative companies.

He said: “There’s a great sense of community, without it being a community of lifestyle business owners. The ambition for growth is huge.”

Wired Sussex, a trade alliance and development agency for digital media businesses in the area, has 1,200 member companies – up from just 100 some 10 years ago.

Nick Underhill, its director, said: “That’s a really good indicator of the growth of the industry here.

“I don’t think Brighton gets the recognition it deserves as a digital media cluster. Within the south-east, 85 per cent of the turnover of creative industries comes from digital content.”

Brighton is also attracting international creative companies. For example, NC Soft, South Korea’s biggest software company, established its European headquarters in the city a couple of years ago.

Many of the city’s creative and IT companies have connections with Sussex University and Mr Underhill believes the high population of graduates in the city is a crucial factor. “Brighton is the leading city in the country for the retention of graduates,” he added.

Figures from the South-East England Development Agency indicate that Brighton and Hove has the highest skilled workforce on the south-east coast, with 42.6 per cent of its economically active population educated to NVQ level 4 or higher. It is also seeing strong growth in its working-age population of about 9.7 per cent, above the regional average.

Cogapp is another fast-growing Brighton digital media company attracting international attention. The interactive communications consultancy came to prominence recently by designing and running the ICONS project, commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is building into an online resource of material about English life and culture.

Founded in 1985, the company was a pioneer of digital media but it is just in the past few years that growth has been dynamic and stable, according to founder Alex Morrison.

Mr Morrison, managing director, said: “This was very much a garage industry but we are coming out of the garage into the proper business mainstream now. We have grown significantly in confidence because our world is becoming more stable. Web technology is settling down and that gives us a stable platform to build our growth on.”

Among current projects, Cogapp is working with the Museum of Modern Art in New York to help it display tens of thousands of pieces, currently stored out of view, online through kiosks in the museum. Other projects have included creating an interactive encyclopedia of the history of Manchester United.

With revenues heading for £1.3m this year, producing profit of 8 to 15 per cent of that, Mr Morrison is confident the company can sustain its growth without the need for outside investment. However, something could change his plans.

He is watching closely the development of “360-degree commissioning” in which broadcasters generate a range of related content for delivery across platforms – television, internet, mobile – rather than simply creating a website as an afterthought for a television programme.

“That could take us to another level very quickly,” he said. “And then the whole issue of investment and partnership would be up for grabs.”