Financial Services in North England
London has long been a global leader in the financial services sector and North England both complements the overall UK financial industry and hosts a significant financial sector itself. London is two hours from various North England locations.
In fact, North England has one of the largest financial services clusters in the nation, thanks to our educated, skilled workforce and highly competitive labor and property costs. Our region also supports London with back office administrative functions that are cheaper to handle here.
Financial service firms here include companies specializing in fund management, corporate finance, wealth management, brokerage, investment trusts, insurance and accounting operations.
- Up to 48 percent of AIM flotations in the UK are handled by North England firms.
- Manchester University Business School MBA is ranked third in the UK by the Financial Times.
- Manchester is now the base for one of four UK Financial Services Academies, which puts the employers at the forefront of curriculum design, development and delivery. Another 29,000 students in our highly ranked universities are studying business management, economics, accounting and/or finance.
- North England business costs are up to 35 percent lower than London's. Average North England salaries across 30 typical positions in financial services are 7 percent below the national average and 23 percent below those in London.
Market Opportunities
Financial companies expanding into North England will find a large pool of potential customers. At 9.3 million people, our market is larger than Sweden, Switzerland or Austria. Some potential lucrative opportunities include:
- Retirement: Most of Europe has been suffering from the combination of an aging population and a reduction in company pensions. There are still not enough UK workers investing in their future.
- Consumer Debt: The level of consumer borrowing in the UK is significantly higher than in many other areas of Europe.
- Wealth Management/Private Bank: As our region grows more successful, so do our citizens, who need specialized investment and banking services.
