A North East growth strategy has identified the opportunity to create more than 2,000 new fintech jobs in the next three years.
A report developed by Whitecap Consulting says the region could become home to more than 7,700 roles in the growing fintech sector by the end of 2025 through a plan involving the public sector, private sector, and higher education. The paper – North East Fintech Strategy 2022-25 – has been developed by Whitecap Consulting to create more and better jobs, develop a collaborative, sustainable, growth-focused FinTech hub, and to foster regional, national and international connectivity.
The work has been supported by key regional stakeholders including Atom bank, Dynamo North East, FinTech North, Invest Newcastle, Invest North East England, Newcastle Strategic Solutions, Newcastle University, North East ROCU (North East Regional Organised Crime Unit), North of Tyne Combined Authority, North Tyneside Council, Northumbria University, and Sage. The strategy was launched at an event in Newcastle this week, hosted by Womble Bond Dickinson.
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The sector’s regional growth has been driven by substantial levels of investment and employment over the last three years which has led to a 58% increase in the number of firms operating in the area, including an 81% increase in the number of startups and scaleups, nearly a third of which have chosen to expand their operations into the North East.
In addition to the new jobs, the Gross Value Added (GVA) created by FinTech is forecast to increase 11% per year, to reach £431m in 2025. The number of fintech firms is also expected to jump, from 45 to 81. At present, 76% of the region’s firms within the sector are in Newcastle, Gateshead or Sunderland, with 11% in Durham, and 9% in the Tees Valley region.
The project follows an independent national strategic review which identified the Newcastle and Durham area as a top ten UK fintech cluster.
Sir Ron Kalifa, author of the Kalifa Review, said “I am delighted to see the publication of a fintech growth strategy for the North East. In developing this three year strategy, the group of regional stakeholders that have worked with the Whitecap team have collectively delivered against a key objective that was laid out in my review last year. I hope the new strategy will generate opportunities, secure investment and can help create jobs that will help the fintech sector and economic prosperity of the region and the UK.”
Richard Coates, managing director at Whitecap Consulting, said: ”The key to successful implementation will be the way the region takes ownership of the actions and works collaboratively to deliver them. Our analysis shows that the growth of fintech in the North East over the last three years has primarily been driven by tech sector expansion and inward investment success in attracting new fintech and tech firms to the region.”
Rachel Burdis, inward investment manager, Invest North East England, said: “The North East’s growing fintech community will greatly benefit from a regional strategy, focused on increasing business activity, funding and sector growth. We have supported this action-orientated Whitecap report, which highlights some of the priorities and prospects for this sector, as well as the ecosystem we have here.”
Dawn Dunn, digital and tech lead, Invest Newcastle (part of NewcastleGateshead Initiative), added: “Now is the time to accelerate, grow and build on our strengths. To do that we needed a collective and defined strategy, and I was delighted to play a part in this journey. We have seen phenomenal growth, and this strategy will support us to define the opportunity to investors within national and international markets - promoting the region as place where fintech businesses can not only start up, but scale at pace. This is our first step towards delivering a tangible strategy that will ensure that the sector continues to create jobs, develop talent, and attract inward investment. I look forward to the future as we continue to work together to support this high-growth sector to thrive.”
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