The Greater Manchester FinTech sector is set to be worth £1 billion by 2023

by James · March 31, 2023

A new report from Whitecap Consulting shows that the FinTech sector in Greater Manchester is the largest outside of London, employs 10,000 people and is set to contribute more than £1bn 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 the past few months, carried out with support from organizations including Bruntwood SciTech, GFT, MIDAS, Slalom, Vialto Partners, University of Manchester , Rise, created by Barclays, pro-Manchester and FinTech North.

With growth of 67% in the last 3 years, the report finds that Greater Manchester is an international hub and the largest regional ecosystem outside of London. The sector is expected to contribute £1 billion to the local economy by 2023, with an estimated 10,000 people working in FinTech roles, across approximately 240 firms operating in the FinTech sector across 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 that has tripled in number over the past 3 years. The region has core strengths in payments, lending, wealth technology and accounting.

Highlighting the increasing level of national connectivity in the FinTech sector, the report features a foreword by Charlotte Crosswell, the inaugural Chair of CFIT, while Councilor Nicholas Lyons, 694^th The Lord Mayor of the City of London, was the guest speaker at a launch event at Bruntwood SciTech’s 1 Circle Square on the morning of 31 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 with our long-term digital and innovation strategies. Start-ups and scale-ups are vital to 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 Honorable The Lord Mayor of the City of London, says:

“I am delighted and proud to support the launch of the Whitecap Consulting FinTech Ecosystem Report 2023. The research clearly highlights the growing strength of Manchester’s FinTech sector as part of one of the largest hubs across the UK. We support the recommendations emerging from this report and are excited to work with our key stakeholders in Manchester on these. We have already started. During my visit to Manchester I was pleased to bring with me a delegation of London investors. This helps link London’s capital to the North West and support Manchester’s burgeoning FinTech companies in scaling.”

Chris Sier, Chairman, FinTech North, says:

“The growth of the FinTech sector in Manchester in recent years is phenomenal, but I am not surprised by the new data, as I have seen first-hand how significant and active the FinTech ecosystem is in this region. With established financial institutions, startups, scaleups , investors, universities and support services which are all very active, all 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, alongside other fast-growing digitally-led sectors such as LegalTech and HealthTech. FinTech is a fast-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 qualified talent in the region, open doors to new markets and our wider ecosystem support.”

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

Charlotte Crosswell OBE, Chair, Center for Finance, Innovation and 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 -s. It is important that we continue to strengthen the links between industry, academia, government and regulators to support this exciting sector, and ensure 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 in 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 across several measures, including GVA (67%), number of FinTech firms (133%), FinTech start-ups and scale-ups (218%), and estimated FinTech workforce (36.6%). Whitecap’s data analysis was performed using a variety of publicly available and subscription-based third-party databases and platforms, including its primary data partner The Data City.