New report will shine light on Leeds FinTech ecosystem

Whitecap Consulting, the regional strategy consultancy, is undertaking a project which will result in the publication of a new report analysing the FinTech ecosystem in the Leeds City Region.

The project is being conducted in partnership with Leeds City Council, with the support of key regional stakeholders including Leeds Building Society, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Bruntwood SciTech, Cloud Gateway, Equiniti, FinTech North, and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership. It will be the third report from Whitecap on the region’s FinTech ecosystem, following previous analyses published in recent years.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “We have been proud to support the vibrant and growing FinTech sector in Leeds City Region over recent years, and we are looking forward to seeing the findings of this new report from Whitecap Consulting. 

“Leeds is a magnet for FinTech talent and home to major financial organisations such as the Financial Conduct Authority and the UK Infrastructure Bank, with the Bank of England also recently announcing the city as the site of its new northern hub.”

Richard Fearon, chief executive of Leeds Building Society, said: “Tech and innovation are integral to providing the modern financial services that the Leeds City Region has become synonymous with. One-in-five of our people at Leeds Building Society hold a digital or tech role and they are fundamental to us delivering for our members.”

Steve Elliot, managing director, LexisNexis Risk Solutions (UK & Ireland), said: “LexisNexis Risk Solutions is proud to sponsor this report and to play an active role in the economic prosperity of the Leeds City Region. We acquired Leeds-born tech start-up, TruNarrative in August 2021, and are now focused on building on the success of the LexisNexis RiskNarrative platform from our centre of excellence, based here in Leeds city centre.

“From here, we can easily engage with regional FinTechs across the UK and take our software platform to global markets, including EMEA, APAC and the Americas. We’re proud to have a home in Leeds and to be creating a range of exciting job opportunities as we continue to expand the team supporting RiskNarrative.”

In 2021 a strategic review of the UK FinTech sector was published (the Kalifa Review), which highlighted the growth of FinTech across the UK. The Kalifa Review called on the key regional FinTech clusters to develop three year strategies and to work collaboratively to help maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in FinTech.

Whitecap has previously published reports in 2018 and 2020, the last of which showed strong growth of FinTech in the region with the number of firms operating in the FinTech sector estimated at 98, generating a GVA of £353.5m. Early analysis for the new report suggests the sector has continued to see strong growth in the Leeds City Region despite the challenging economic environment through the Covid pandemic.

A project steering group has been formed which includes representatives of the sponsors and partners, and the report will be published later this year.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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