The report will shed light on the Leeds FinTech ecosystem
Whitecap Consulting, a regional strategy consultancy, is undertaking a project which will result in a new report analyzing the FinTech ecosystem in the Leeds City Region.
The project is being carried out with Leeds City Council, with support from 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 analyzes in recent years.
Councilor 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 the Leeds City Region over recent years and we look forward to seeing the findings of this new report from Whitecap Consulting.
“Leeds is a magnet for FinTech talent and home to major financial organizations such as the Financial Conduct Authority and the UK Infrastructure Bank, with the Bank of England also recently announcing the city as the location of its new northern hub.”
Richard Fearon, Chief Executive of Leeds Building Society, said: “Technology and innovation are integral to providing the modern financial services that Leeds City Region has become synonymous with.
“One in five of our staff at Leeds Building Society has a digital or technology role and they are fundamental to us delivering for our members.
“A thriving local fintech industry also has an important role to play, which is why we are delighted to support this new report.”
Steve Elliot, Managing Director, LexisNexis Risk Solutions (UK & Ireland), said: “We acquired Leeds-born technology start-up, TruNarrative in August 2021 and are now focused on building on the success of the LexisNexis RiskNarrative platform from our center of excellence, based here in Leeds city centre.
“From here we can easily partner with regional FinTechs across the UK and take our software platform to global markets including EMEA, APAC and the Americas.
“We are proud to have a home in Leeds and to create a number of exciting job opportunities as we continue to grow the team supporting RiskNarrative.”
In 2021, a strategic review of the UK FinTech sector (Kalifa Review) was published, 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 work together to maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in FinTech.
Analysis carried out for the new report will provide updated statistics as well as a set of recommendations.
Whitecap has previously published reports in 2018 and 2020, the latter 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 £353.5 million.
A project steering group has been formed which includes representatives of the sponsors and partners, and the report will be published later this year. To get involved in the project, email [email protected]
