Greater Manchester FinTech sector set to be worth £1 billion in 2023

A new report from Whitecap Consulting shows that the FinTech sector in Greater Manchester is the largest outside London, employs 10,000 people, and is set to contribute more than £1 billion to the regional economy this year.

Launched today at a FinTech North event hosted by Bruntwood SciTech in Manchester, the report is the result of a collaborative research project over recent months, conducted with support from organisations including Bruntwood SciTech, GFT, MIDAS, Slalom, Vialto Partners, University of Manchester, Rise, created by Barclays, pro-manchester, and FinTech North.

With growth of 67% over the last 3 years, the report finds Greater Manchester to be an international hub and the largest regional ecosystem outside London. The sector is expected to contribute £1 billion to the local economy in 2023, with an estimated 10,000 people working in FinTech roles, across approximately 240 firms operating in the FinTech sector in financial services, technology and FinTech firms. Within this, Greater Manchester is now home to approximately 150 FinTech firms, the vast majority of which are startups and scaleups, a segment which has trebled in number over the last 3 years. The region has core strengths in Payments, Lending, WealthTech and Accounting.

Highlighting the increasing level of national connectivity in the FinTech sector, the report includes a foreword from Charlotte Crosswell, the inaugural Chair of CFIT, while Nicholas Lyons, the 694^th Lord Mayor of the City of London, was guest speaker at a launch event at Bruntwood SciTech’s 1 Circle Square on the morning of 31st March.

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

“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.”

Alderman Nicholas Lyons, The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of the City of London, says:

“I’m delighted and proud to support the launch of the Whitecap Consulting FinTech Ecosystem Report 2023. The research astutely highlights the increasing strengths of Manchester’s FinTech sector as part of one of the largest hubs across the UK. We support the recommendations that come out of this report and are excited to work with our key stakeholders in Manchester on these. We have started already. During my visit to Manchester I was pleased to bring a delegation of London investors with me. This helps to further connect London capital to the North West and support Manchester’s burgeoning FinTech companies to scale.”

Chris Sier, Chairman, FinTech North, says:

“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, says:

“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.”

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 identified 10 key FinTech clusters in the UK, with the Manchester-Leeds cluster being cited as one of three ‘established’ clusters outside London. The Review also recommended the creation of the Centre for Financial Innovation and Technology (CFIT)), which was launched at the end of February.

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

“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 pf the UK’s regional FinTech ecosystems. Since the publication of the first Manchester report in 2020, the sector has seen strong growth on across multiple measures, including GVA (67%), the number of FinTech firms (133%), FinTech startups and scaleups (218%), and the estimated FinTech workforce (36.6%). Whitecap’s data analysis was conducted using a variety of publicly available and subscription-based third party databases and platforms, including its primary data partner The Data City.

The report can be downloaded here.