The report is the result of the first ever detailed analysis of the FinTech ecosystem in the Liverpool City Region, a project that has been supported by a number of sponsors and partners, including Growth Platform (Liverpool City Region Growth Company), Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, University of Liverpool, DTM Legal, RSM UK, Professional Liverpool, and FinTech North.
It includes comment from Innovate Finance the UK’s trade body for FinTech, as well as the recently launched Centre for Finance, Innovation & Technology (CFIT). The report was launched at a FinTech North event in Liverpool today, hosted at the iconic Spine building in Paddington Village, in partnership with Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) and Sciontec Developments Limited (Sciontec).
The FinTech sector in the region is estimated to be generating £218.8m of GVA per year for the regional economy. The report maps the ecosystem across financial services, FinTech, tech, investors, workspaces, higher education, public sector, and advisory / support organisations. It identifies 42 FinTech firms that are based within the region, approximately four out of five of which are startups and scaleups. The key strengths of these firms are in payments, WealthTech, InsurTech and accounting. In addition to mapping out the FinTech sector, the report includes case studies highlighting the region’s strengths in HealthTech, LegalTech, and Gaming.
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:
“As Mayor, establishing our city region as one of the most attractive places in the country – and the world – for businesses to innovate and invest is one of my top priorities. In the six years since I was first elected, the journey to realising that ambition has been made much easier by the enviable foundations we’re building on. Our area is fortunate to already be home to a thriving FinTech sector that is worth a nearly £220m a year to our economy. Those businesses support livelihoods, cultivate creativity, and enhance the communities they operate in. My role, therefore, is to ensure they get the opportunities they deserve to unleash their full potential.”
The new report highlights not only that the FinTech sector in the region is significant and growing, but also the fact that the broader innovation ecosystem in the region is prospering and has highly ambitious ambitions for the future. Liverpool City Region is undergoing major innovation investment across multiple sectors, and its ambition of achieving 5% R&D investment annually by 2030 is nearly double the national target. The investment in innovation aims to provide £41.7bn gross GVA benefit and 44,000 new jobs by 2030.
Julian Wells, Director and Financial Services & FinTech Lead at Whitecap Consulting, said:
“Over the course of this project the ambition of Liverpool City Region’s innovation investment activity has been a prominent feature, and Whitecap’s analysis of other regions over recent years has shown the economic value generated by FinTech has doubled or trebled over the last 3 years. When you combine this trend with the fact that the region is targeting nearly twice the national average in terms of R&D investment, the potential for significant growth of FinTech in the region is clear to see.”
Chris Sier, Chairman of FinTech North, said:
““I’m delighted to see such a positive story about the FinTech sector in the Liverpool City Region at a time when the importance of regional FinTech ecosystems across the UK is high on the agenda than ever before. FinTech North has been coming to Liverpool since 2018 and we have always been made to feel very welcome, as have the international delegations of FinTech firms we have helped bring here. Liverpool is always a popular destination with these firms due to the city’s rich cultural heritage as well as its long standing interest in financial services and technology.”
FinTechs created in the Liverpool City Region include CIRCA5000 (formerly known as tickr), while firms such as Cashplus Bank and Swoop have recently expanded into the region. Major established financial services brands including Investec, Rathbones, RSA, Barclays, Santander, and The Very Group are based in the region.
In addition to mapping out the FinTech sector, the report discusses the Liverpool City Region’s strengths in HealthTech, LegalTech, and Gaming, all of which form part of the innovation ecosystem across the region.
Whitecap Consulting has previously published reports analysing the FinTech ecosystems in regions including Leeds City Region, Greater Manchester, the North East, the West Midlands, Bristol & Bath, and Northern Ireland. The firm has also supported the development of a 10 year FinTech research and innovation roadmap for Scotland, a FinTech skills framework for Birmingham and the West Midlands, and an analysis of the open finance opportunities for small businesses.
The new report can be downloaded here.
