Global payment firm opening office in city
AFEX, one of the world’s largest non-bank providers of global payment and risk management solutions, has announced the opening of a new office in Manchester.
The office on Deansgate initially opens with four permanent employees and is the latest addition to its network of offices across Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and Asia.
AFEX opened the new office in response to a high level of demand from companies in the North West for its range of international payments and FX services.
This is being driven by an increase in the number of businesses looking to trade overseas and a growing recognition of the need to mitigate currency risks in the face of increasing market volatility and uncertainty.
According to a survey conducted for Manchester City Council in 2015, around a quarter (26%) of businesses in Manchester were involved in international trade, up from 20% in 2008.
As a whole, the number of exporting companies in the North West increased by 2.2% in the first three quarters of 2015 compared to the same period in the previous year(2).
Stuart Holmes, general manager EMEA for AFEX said: “The North West, with its strong business community and highly developed and growing import and export market, is a key market for us.
“We’ve seen an increasing amount of interest and activity from businesses across the region as they look to maximise their international growth potential and we are excited to be extending our UK operation. Manchester was a natural choice of location for us and we look forward to providing local firms with an even better and more tailored service to address their global payment, treasury and risk management needs.”
Although this is AFEX’s first office in the North West, it already has strong ties with the area. It not only accounts for a significant proportion of its UK client base, but the firm is a sponsor of St Helens rugby league team and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
Holmes added: “We’re really excited about our new home in Manchester. It will be a great base for us to expand our involvement with rugby league and we’re very much looking forward the 2016 season.”
