Fintech promotional agency Innovate Finance has sent a delegation to Manchester as part of a campaign to forge links between London and regional technology hubs across the UK.
The London delegation - which included fintech envoy Eileen Burbidge and Innovate Finance chief Lawrence Wintermeyer - met with local luminaries at Barclays Rise workspace, a physical site for innovative companies, offering a co-working environment, event spaces, and meeting rooms.
The visit was welcomed by Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council: "We are already a major financial services centre and the home to Europe's second largest cluster of digital and creative industries, with a can-do culture. As the financial technology sector grows, I'm confident Manchester will prove an attractive place for start-ups to do business."
With office rents in London reaching unsustainable levels for small startups, many entrepreneurs are choosing to set up their businesses in Northern cities with good transport links and tech-savvy graduate populations.
Earlier this year, Innovate Finance united Leeds and Edinburgh’s fintech hubs with London’s ecosystem and is currently working with them to harness their potential to build strong technology clusters that can create better financial services for consumers.
Innovate Finance CEO Lawrence Wintermeyer says: “We aim to work closer with Manchester’s fintech leaders to foster valuable relationships between startups, regional powerhouse firms and policy makers to ensure that innovation continues to thrive here and Manchester plays a crucial role in the future of finance.”