Greater Manchester FinTech sector is the largest outside London

The Greater Manchester FinTech sector is set to contribute £1 billion to the local economy by 2023, making it the largest outside London, according to a new report by Whitecap Consulting.

The sector was also found to employ over 10,000 people in the city-region, and has seen 67% growth over the last three years. As a result, Greater Manchester is now an international hub for FinTech, and is the UK’s largest regional ecosystem for the sector outside the capital.

Greater Manchester is now home to approximately 150 FinTech firms, the vast majority of which are start-ups and scale-ups, a segment which has trebled in number over the last 3 years. The city-region has core strengths in Payments, Lending, WealthTech and Accounting.

The Whitecap Consulting report was launched at a FinTech North event, hosted by BruntwoodSciTech in Manchesterm and was compiled following a collaborative research project, conducted with support from Bruntwood SciTech, GFT, MIDAS, Slalom, Vialto Partners, University of Manchester, Rise, created by Barclays, pro-manchester, and FinTech North.

Joe Manning, Managing Director of MIDAS, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, said:

“Greater Manchester’s Fintech status is a clear representation of how our city-region is working in partnership on our long-term digital and innovation strategies. Start-ups and scale-ups are imperative for the future growth of our economy, and we look forward to building even further on this excellent report by continuing to leverage our renowned technological capabilities and exceptional talent in the UK’s most liveable city.”

Chris Sier, Chairman of FinTech North, said:

“The growth of the FinTech sector in Manchester over recent years is phenomenal but I am not surprised by the new data, as I’ve seen first-hand how significant and active the FinTech ecosystem is in this region. With established financial services institutions, startups, scaleups, investors, universities and support services all highly active, all of the key components are in place for the continued growth of this vibrant sector in the region.”

Deb Hetherington, Head of Innovation, Bruntwood SciTech, said:

“FinTech is a sector we have been proactively championing for several years now, along with other fast-growing digitally-led sectors such as LegalTech and HealthTech. FinTech is a rapidly growing pillar of strength for Greater Manchester, which we will continue to support scaling by providing the businesses we work with direct access to funding, highly skilled talent in the region, opening doors into new markets, and our wider ecosystem support.”

Charlotte Crosswell OBE, Chair, Centre for Finance, Innovation & Technology (CFIT), said:

“The results of the Manchester FinTech Ecosystem Report 2023 are impressive. I look forward to working with the financial services, and technology sectors in the region and across the UK to drive international FinTech growth, attract talent into the FinTech sector, and ensure better outcomes for consumers and SMEs. It is important we continue to enhance the links between industry, academia, government, and regulators to support this exciting sector and ensure that its impact is felt up and down the country.”

The report is the second review of Greater Manchester’s FinTech ecosystem to be published by Whitecap Consulting, which over recent years has published reports on 7 of the UK’s regional FinTech ecosystems. Since the publication of the first Manchester report in 2020, the sector has seen strong growth across multiple measures including economic contribution, number of firms and size of the workforce.