The announcement comes at a time when the UK’s FinTech sector is now said to be generating £6.6 billion in revenues per year, and is acknowledged to represent a significant regional opportunity for cities and regions outside of the thriving sector in London.
The research will aim to analyse the current FinTech activity taking place within the region to help understand where the areas of current and potential future competitive advantage lie. It is being conducted with principal support from regional organisations, and Whitecap is seeking sponsors to help ‘crowdfund’ the project.
Whitecap’s research is being jointly led by Stuart Harrison, Associate Director, South West, and Julian Wells, Director and FinTech Practice Area Lead. It will provide recommendations as to how the Bristol region can collectively look to develop and capitalise on these areas of competitive advantage, and will engage with the key stakeholders in the region to ensure as complete a picture as possible can be established. Whitecap previously completed research into the Leeds City Region FinTech ecosystem in 2018 which is currently being updated, and is also in the process of conducting a similar exercise in the North East.
Richard Coates, Managing Director of Whitecap Consulting, says:
“The national FinTech market is evolving and growing beyond the start-up and investment focused activity in London. There are several regional clusters and communities developing across the UK, fuelled by tech entrepreneurs as well as corporates keen to engage with FinTechs.
“As the regional FinTech landscape continues to form in Bristol and the South West, it is important to understand and further develop the ecosystem, to support productivity and growth. We know from our relationships with national bodies such as Innovate Finance and HM Treasury that there is demand for this type of regional insight and acceleration.”
David Henderson, Head of Transformation at Hargreaves Lansdown, says:
“Bristol is known as a city with advanced capability in technology sectors. When combined with a heritage in financial services this puts Bristol in a strong position to continue to develop into a FinTech centre of excellence. We are therefore delighted to support this important piece of research which we feel can play a key role in highlighting and promoting the FinTech sector in Bristol on a national and international level.”
Established in 2012, Whitecap Consulting is a regional strategy consultancy headquartered in Leeds, with offices in Newcastle, Manchester, Milton Keynes, and Bristol. Whitecap works with clients across multiple sectors, with Financial Services and FinTech being key areas of focus.
Dan Read, Partner & FinTech Lead, & Jon Gill, Partner & Head of Fast Growth, TLT Solicitors, say:
“As a national law firm with a leading position in the Financial Services sector, we see the emergence of London as a global centre for FinTech, but also the opportunities that exist for FinTechs that are building out of the UK regions. We are delighted to be supporting this exciting project to shine a light on the emerging cluster in the South West, and stimulate debate as to how we can work together to realise the potential of the region’s existing strengths in the financial services and digital sectors and create a leading ecosystem for FinTechs.”
Whitecap is also the co-organiser of FinTech West, the not for profit event-based initiative that has hosted 2 successful events in Bristol over recent months and has further event activity scheduled in September and November.
To submit an expression of interest in supporting the Bristol research please email [email protected]
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Sponsors of the research to date include:
