Wolverhampton financial services firm recognised as exemplar of its sector
A FLOURISHING Wolverhampton company has been held up as shining example of the strength of the Black Country’s finance sector.
The recognition for Charter Court Financial Services was highlighted by UK Trade & Investment.
The recognition came at the launch of the Midlands Financial Centre of Excellence at the offices of Deutsche Bank in Birmingham.
The Midlands Financial Centre of Excellence is a UKTI-led government initiative working with local partners to market the Midlands region as a destination of choice and to grow the network of financial services or related professional/business services company.
CCFS, established in 2008 with just 28 staff, now employs over 350 people at its Wolverhampton Business Park headquarters.
It was ranked tenth in the Sunday Times Best 100 companies to work for in 2016, and the company is expanding its base, with plans to double its workforce to 700 over the next few years.
Ian Lonergan, CEO Charter Court Financial Services, said: “We picked Wolverhampton to be our base because it has strong links with the financial services industry and therefore provides us with a wealth of opportunities to recruit talented people.
“Many financial services firms have operations in the West Midlands and because Wolverhampton is close to the motorway network and has a good public transport system, many potential employees are within our catchment area.
“We have grown from 28 people to over 350 over the last seven years and our location has played a part in this achievement.”
It said it envisaged further growth and had drawn comfort from the number of firms looking to move into the area.
Cllr John Reynolds, Wolverhampton’s cabinet member for City Economy, added: “CCFS is one of Wolverhampton’s success stories and is an important cog in the Midlands Engine.
“They are a prime example of companies thriving in Wolverhampton, where there is now £3.5bn of investment either on site or in the pipeline, delivering jobs, prosperity and growth.”
Stewart Towe, Black Country LEP chair added: “The Black Country LEP is delighted to welcome the Midlands Financial Centre of Excellence initiative.
“Global businesses are already making the Black Country their base and, ranked as a cost-effective location by FDI Magazine, the Black Country and the region make perfect business sense to growing companies.”
CCFS owns Precise Mortgages an intermediary mortgage lender and Charter Savings Bank, one of the UK’s leading challenger banks with over 50,000 savings accounts and balances in excess of £2bn.
