Lord Mayor of City of London backs Manchester FinTech boom
The FinTech sector in Greater Manchester is set to contribute £1 billion to the regional economy in 2023.
The claim was made in a report launched on Friday (31 March) at a FinTech North event hosted by Bruntwood SciTech in Manchester, with the Lord Mayor of the City of London Nicholas Lyons amongst the speakers.
After the event Lyons told TheBusinessDesk.com: “As Lord Mayor of the City of London I get around the city regions and the level of expertise in cities like Manchester never ceases to impress me.”
He also brought venture capital investors from the City to meet local tech businesses and added: “A lot of VCs are plugged in to early stage companies to help them grow and scale in the UK.”
He defended the reputation of the City as tech businesses investment hub and recognised recent moves by listed tech businesses to the US.
“I want to see the City of London as the Silicon Valley of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, there’s a real need and an opportunity for that.”
The key highlights of the FinTech report included a recognition that Greater Manchester is the international hub and the largest regional ecosystem outside London and is expected to contribute £1bn GVA to the regional economy this year, and comprises over 150 mainly startups and scaleups, as well as 10,000 people working in different FinTech jobs.
The report by WhitCap consulting is the result of a collaborative research project which was funded through sponsorship and support Bruntwood SciTech, FinTech North, GFT Group, MIDAS Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, pro-manchester, Rise, created by Barclays, Slalom, The University of Manchester, and Vialto Partners.
