Aimed at showcasing London as a prime location for building global digital and technology businesses, the competition has been launched today at London's Digital Shoreditch 2013 festival and will see the winning high growth technology company move to London and receive £1 million of new investment.

The £1 million will be raised through Seedrs (www.seedrs.com) from private investors interested in owning a share of the winning business - the one assessed as most likely to be worth £100 million in five years' time. The competition is supported by a plethora of businesses and organisations including The Mayor of London and the UK Government.

Seedrs has been chosen as the investment platform because it is both fully regulated by the FCA, and because of its unique 'crowdfunding done properly' model that uses a Nominee structure so that shares are held by a single entity. This provides essential post-investment protection for investors, and for entrepreneurs makes subsequent rounds of investment simple and straightforward relative to other crowdfunding models that create the often show- stopping logistical nightmare of having to deal with as many shareholders as investors.

Jeff Lynn, co-founder and CEO of Seedrs, said: "This is a very exciting competition which will highlight something I have long said - that London and the UK is an ideal place to build and run new and very fast growing global businesses. We are thrilled to be chosen as the sole investment platform for the competition and see it as clear recognition of the pivotally important advantages that Seedrs offers. The words 'Nominee structure' may sound like industry jargon but they mean we do equity crowdfunding properly, to the huge advantage of both investor and entrepreneur alike. Importantly, this competition will also help raise awareness amongst UK investors of startups as an exciting new asset class now easily accessible to people other than just the very rich."

Boris Johnson, the Mayohe Mayor of London, said: "London is a terrific home for technology start-ups and a world leader in this booming sector. This competition is an aptly innovative approach which I hope will unleash even more of the entrepreneurial talent for which this city is renowned."

Michael Fallon, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, said: "The UK is a great place to do business, with constantly improving infrastructure and a skilled labour force. This initiative can provide a real boost for entrepreneurship and start-ups with high growth potential and help to keep London ahead in the global competition for talent, innovation and success."