THE Government has promised to go and sell Yorkshire’s financial services sector to the world – alongside Poole, Portsmouth and a dozen other regional centres of excellence.
Northern Powerhouse minister James Wharton was in Leeds to promote the strength of the sector in the region – although omitted to mention Sheffield, a key part of Yorkshire’s £14bn financial services sector, in his 10-minute speech – and he called on the assembled audience of leading figures from the financial and professional services sector to promote its strengths more widely.
“I can’t sell Leeds abroad, you are going to have to do it,” he said. “I can’t sell Leeds in the UK, you are going to have to do it.”
The Financial Centres of Excellence initiative is being driven by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and is designed to encourage potential investors to think of establishing offices in Yorkshire – and other regional centres across the UK from Belfast to Norwich – rather than just the City of London.
“This isn’t about telling the people of the Leeds they are good at financial services,” said Mr Wharton. “This is about telling the people of the world that the North is good at financial services.”
The event did not include mention of any additional money that would be used to promote Yorkshire as a financial services centre of excellence, nor were any specific initiatives or plans discussed.
