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A HUB FOR UK’S FINTECHS IN AN ESTABLISHED FINANCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CENTRE

Manchester - offering a widely diverse pool of expertise

143,000 financial and professional services jobs

Manchester is a significant financial and professional services centre, with exports of £5.8bn from this sector. It has strong and wide-ranging expertise spanning banking, fintech, sustainable finance, insurance, legal and consultancy. Its scale, diversity and maturity make it an attractive hub for firms who want to grow, innovate and operate at a lower cost, while having access to top talent, clients and global markets.

Manchester hosts major international banks including Barclays, Santander, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds, J.P. Morgan and BNY. It is also an established hub of fintech expertise, especially in payments, software, platforms, data analytics and cyber security. Over 250 fintech firms employ 10,000 people in the city. Companies range from fintech unicorns including Starling Bank, Klarna, OakNorth, Radius Payment Solutions and SaltPay, to fast-scaling firms such as Adyen, MoneySuperMarket and Zopa.

£327m Foreign direct investment in financial and professional services between 2021 and 2025

Decentralised finance, blockchain and sustainable finance are other areas of expertise, with the Centre for Financial Technology Studies at Alliance Manchester Business School leading research in these areas. Manchester also benefits from strong net zero clusters and major assets such as the Sustainable Ventures Climate Tech Hub.

A large insurance and professional services sector, servicing firms at every stage of growth, are also part of Manchester’s integrated offer. The insurance sector makes up one third of all financial services employment in the city region, and includes global insurers, brokers, mutuals, a strong intermediary network and insurtech innovators. While professional services firms – from a large legal sector to consultancy, advisory and accountancy – support business growth and transformation.

Celebrating and showcasing the Northern success stories in tech

The Investment event was hosted by the British Business Bank to celebrate some of the Northern success stories in tech and to meet some of the up and coming stars such as Wi-Q, Bankifi and Orka. It was also an opportunity for the Lord Mayor, Nicholas Lyons to meet with 8 fintech companies and investors during a ‘Meet the Investor’ networking session - a first of its kind. Consisting of a ‘speed dating set up’ which allowed start ups to pitch their companies and have one-on-one frank discussions.

The Manchester Fintech Ecosystem Report, published by Whitecap consulting was launched at the event, which talks about Manchester as a centre for entrepreneurialism and reveals the huge opportunities for the fintech sector in Greater Manchester.

Download Whitecap Consulting's report

Greater Manchester fintech sector approaches £1 billion

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Ignition Law

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OakNorth

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