developing leeds city region as a fintech centre of ... · the uk fintech story does not begin and...

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS OF RESEARCH BY FINEXTRA ON BEHALF OF LEEDS CITY COUNCILSEPTEMBER 2016

DEVELOPING LEEDS CITY REGION AS A FINTECH CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE – EXECUTIVE REPORT

SELBYLEEDS

CRAVENHARROGATE

WAKEFIELD

YORK

BARNSLEY

KIRKLEES

CALDERDALE

BRADFORD

01 Foreword .............................................................. 3 02 Executive summary ................................................ 5

03 Leeds City Region’s strengths in fintech ................... 7

04 How is Leeds City Region currently positioned as a fintech centre? ....................................................11

05 Additional risk factors ..........................................12

06 So what should Leeds City Region do? ....................13

07 Conclusion and final recommendations ...................16

08 Appendix A ...........................................................18

09 About ..................................................................197 What should financial institutions be doing about blockchain right now? 25

| DEVELOPING LEEDS CITY REGION AS A FINTECH CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

01FOREWORD

Fintech – the industry focused on using software to provide financial services and to disrupt and/or rejuvenate the traditional financial industry – is big business. The UK’s fintech market is estimated to be worth around £20 billion in annual revenues, and it is the stated aim of the UK Government to further drive fintech’s growth to benefit the UK’s economy, financial services industry and consumers.

The UK fintech story does not begin and end with London, and there are already significant fintech activities under way in key regions in the UK, among them Leeds and Leeds City Region. Indeed, we believe that our region has a number of distinct strengths that can be leveraged to further develop our fintech presence, and that Leeds and the City Region have a clear opportunity to become the second centre for UK fintech outside London. This will be good for the UK, for the region and for the city of Leeds.

Key among the strengths we have is our financial services sector. This is the biggest in the UK outside London, and it is characterised by both tradition and innovation. The region has been home to financial institutions since the 18th century, and is also the birthplace of leading edge innovators like First Direct. Important segments of the financial services business – such as mortgage lending and insurance – are concentrated in our region, and as traditional financial services providers and new fintech players inevitably converge, Leeds and the City Region are ideally positioned to host and nurture the next generation financial services businesses that will emerge as a result.

A critical priority here is financial inclusion, and there is also a clear opportunity to leverage both fintech and the work of credit unions to further this aim.

MOVING FORWARD WITH REGIONAL FINTECH

By Councillor Judith Blake Leader of Leeds City Council


Another important attribute is our region’s impressive digital credentials. We have the highest concentration of digital, data and technology innovators in the UK, and the energy and expertise of our digital sector can clearly power the development of fintech in the region. Furthermore, our high-speed internet infrastructure fits us well both from a performance and a resilience standpoint to underpin the mission critical fintech applications required to propel financial services into the digital age.

Also critical in this context is our wealth of universities and highly qualified graduates, as well, of course, as the advantages our region can offer both in terms of cost of living and doing business, and in terms of lifestyle.

Last but not least, we believe that our region has an opportunity to play on the global fintech stage – leveraging our established links with other centres of fintech excellence globally, as well as serving as an alternative and welcoming entry point into the UK for global fintech providers.

All in all, we believe the opportunity for Leeds and the City Region to further develop our fintech presence is compelling. In order to validate and build on our thinking, we have commissioned independent fintech research provider Finextra to explore the opportunities – and challenges – for our region in the fintech space. The following pages set out the preliminary findings of Finextra’s research, based on in-depth interviews with a number of local, national and global stakeholders, and I am delighted to say these confirm our belief that our region can make a strong contribution to the development of fintech going forward.

We invite you to share your thoughts on these findings, and look forward to discussing further how we can work collaboratively to realise this vision, and ensure that we fulfil our potential in fintech to the benefit of the city, the region, the financial services industry and the UK as a whole.

02EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


5Leeds and Leeds City Region (comprising Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakefield and York) have a number of inherent advantages when it comes to developing as a fintech centre. To explore whether there is an opportunity to build on these advantages and expand the region’s fintech presence further, Leeds City Council commissioned Finextra to conduct a study - through desk-based research and a series of one-to-one interviews with key local and national stakeholders – to assess its options.

Finextra sought to establish some possible routes for Leeds City Region to take to drive benefits from fintech, posing a number of key questions, including:

• How is Leeds City Region currently positioned in fintech? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

• Is there potential to expand the fintech presence and activities of Leeds City Region and if so where and how?

• What possible routes could this expansion take?• What would be the success and risk factors of these different options?• Who would be the stakeholders and how supportive are they?• Over what timeframe should Leeds City Region look to take action to implement

any plan to boost its activities and presence in the fintech arena?

In brief, the research has reached the following key conclusions:

• Leeds City Region does have a credible opportunity to increase its activities in fintech.

• The key elements needed to realise this would be: – A clear, visible strategy created in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders; – A high-profile body to lead its execution; – A strong PR and events campaign; – A physical space as a focal point; and – A problem solving-focused specialism (or series of specialisms) – not a generalist

fintech approach – based on the region’s existing strengths. The research explores a number of possible specialisms including blockchain (in particular outside financial services), data analytics, insurtech, future payments and information security.


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• Leeds City Region’s native advantages – financial services business, digital credentials, universities, attractive cost base – are all important, though all must be actively leveraged.

• Key risks to manage are the availability of investment funding and the need to move quickly while also making a long-term commitment.

• The research suggests there is a strong degree of support for Leeds City Region to develop and execute a strategy to increase its activities in fintech, and with appropriate stakeholdering and assuming the region’s fintech strategy took into account the roles and needs of all relevant impacted parties, that support could be counted on to underpin the roll-out of the strategy in practice.

In light of these findings, the report makes a series of recommendations:

• Create a strategy. Look locally, regionally, nationally and internationally to determine what Leeds City Region could do that would be distinctive yet complementary and collaborative. Involve all key stakeholders – from banks, building societies, insurance companies, established financial technology providers, start-up fintechs, universities et cetera – to ensure their buy-in and support, and kickstart and maintain a comprehensive communications approach with the wider ecosystem.

• Create a PR and events campaign. Start now while the strategy is being created and continue going forward. This will help to galvanise the local ecosystem and bring onboard other parties from outside to give credibility, energy and strength to the Leeds City Region fintech push. Create a physical fintech space. Whether a laboratory or a cluster or a business park (or all three) – some focal point is needed for Leeds City Region fintech.

• Decide what business problem to solve and from that determine what the Leeds City Region fintech specialism(s) will be. There is no room for a generalist approach, or for fintech for its own sake. The research suggests blockchain, data analytics, insurtech, future payments and information security could be appropriate specialisms.

• Act quickly, but be prepared to support this venture for the long haul. It will take time to come to fruition, and once started, will require staying power in order to reap the full rewards of the effort put in.

• Develop trade and investment links with centres of fintech excellence overseas (building on what is being done with Estonia, Singapore and the Isle of Man) which may be looking to access the UK market but may want a lower cost and easier to navigate base than London.

Finextra would also recommend that Government considers what more it can do to promote fintech in places like Leeds City Region, including providing vision and leadership, funding for catalytic initiatives such as physical space, university funding and forging trade and investment links.


7Credibility in financial servicesLeeds City Region could be said to be uniquely strong outside London in the UK when it comes to the ‘fin’ part of fintech. It is recognised as the home of the second largest financial services business outside the capital – and this comprises not just banks, building societies and insurance companies, but the crucial ancillary services such as legal and accounting and consultancy, as well as a number of key providers of established financial technology solutions and related services.

The research revealed differing views about the relevance of a historical strength in financial services in the context of a modern push in fintech. Some interviewees said there is a significant – perhaps unbridgeable - divide between traditional financial services and fintech. Others pointed out that given the importance of the ‘established’ challenger banks – such as First Direct - for the evolution of fintech, the UK regions (where these players typically reside) have a very important role to play.

There was also commentary around the recognised need for collaboration between established and new fintech – and how the UK regions and in particular Leeds with its longstanding financial services credentials could take a lead here.

The local financial services industry is certainly a constituent that must be brought along with Leeds City Region’s fintech development, as a key potential buyer of locally created solutions. Here the research found that work needs to be done to ensure an alignment between the output of any fintech industry in the region, and the needs of that buying community – for example by facilitating collaboration between local financial services players and local fintech providers to solve relevant problems.

The link with local financial institutions could also be important in the context of attracting and retaining talent in the region from among the many people who study at the local universities – fighting the almighty graduate magnet of London, and giving people a “lifetime reason to stay” in the region.

03LEEDS CITY REGION’S STRENGTHS IN FINTECH


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Big local and big national and international financial services firms are also an important part of the audience for a push by Leeds City Region into fintech. There could be a challenge in attracting bigger players to source their solutions locally, driven as they are by issues of competitiveness and speed to market, so making sure the solutions being created match these players’ needs would be critical. Taking a partnership approach with London would also be important.

In short, the fact that Leeds boasts the UK’s second largest financial services industry does not guarantee it will be successful in further growing its fintech activities, but the presence of local and national/international financial services players is nonetheless a valuable attribute. These will be important contributors and customers and whatever is the output of fintech activities in Leeds must be aligned to their requirements – which are evolving and will continue to do so.

A clear strategy, based around one or more specialisms, with the capacity to deliver solutions needed by local, national and international fintech and financial services players, will be vital. The research found no reason why with this in place financial services players in the region should not be supportive and willing to be involved in future developments. In all likelihood national and global players will join later when they see value – but must be courted from the outset.

Credibility as a digital and tech centreLeeds City Region also has a strong pedigree on the ‘tech’ side of fintech, claiming to have the highest concentration of digital, data and technology innovators in the UK. Inevitably respondents to the research listed digital skills/presence/focus among the attributes the region could bring to bear in further developing its fintech ambitions.

Although a credible digital industry does not in itself guarantee success in fintech, it is an important building block – and the energy of a flourishing digital industry can be exploited by other sectors such as fintech. However, the difference between the strengths that Leeds City Region palpably has in digital – around data science and analytics, software, digital creative, digital marketing and digital design – and fintech should also be acknowledged. There would therefore need to be a strategy to transition from a digital to a fintech focus. Of course there are overlaps already, including the region’s consumer credit expertise.


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Ability to contribute to the resilience of the UK financial system based on internet independenceLeeds City Region is the home of the only operational (mutual, not for profit) internet exchange in the North of England, operated by aql. This exchange provides the hub which enables the majority of the UK fibre operators to connect to each other, allowing network operators and internet service providers (ISPs) also to interconnect. Many of these operators have routes out via Northern shores of the UK to mainland Europe and Scandinavia, as well as to Dublin and the US, providing true internet resilience and independence from London. This provides sound foundations for out-of-London infrastructure which will allow global trade to carry on should there be a significant incident in the capital. aql already provides data and technology services to many of the FTSE 100 companies including JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Provident Financial.

The internet exchange enables a choice of connections with Europe, the US and Asia, which are independent of London. The high density of networks present in aql’s datacentres in Leeds already have the infrastructure network capacity to cope with all of the UK’s internet traffic and there is a competitive advantage in being close the Leeds internet exchange. Google, Apple, and many banks and financial services providers take advantage of this and have servers in Leeds data centres. This speed of transaction together with independence allows companies needing national resilience to place equipment in both Leeds and London to help mitigate issues which could affect one city.

Strong local universitiesAnother attribute of Leeds City Region as a potential fintech centre is its universities. With nine, the region has a good academic pedigree in the tech arena, and it also reportedly boasts the highest retention rate of students once graduated. This is no doubt contributing to the region’s growth, the increasing diversity of its socio-economic make-up and talent pool and its energy and vibrancy.

Almost without exception the stakeholders interviewed for the research cited the universities as a strength underpinning Leeds City Region’s potential fintech development. This would build on other initiatives which have successfully bridged academia and commerce in Leeds, such as the Consumer Data Research Centre – a collaboration between the University of Leeds, University College London, the University of Liverpool and the University of Oxford.

Some interviewees suggested that the academic credentials of the region are more important than any other, while others said the Leeds City Region push should be commercially rather than academic led. While opinions as to the extent to which academia should drive fintech in Leeds City Region varied, that it has a role to play was undisputed, in advising, in collaborative development of appropriate skills and in knowledge transfer. There are some strong examples of academic-commercial


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partnerships in the digital and tech spaces to which Leeds City Region can look – not least Silicon Fen in Cambridge, and, slightly further afield, Mektory at the Talinn University of Technology in Estonia.

The research uncovered some areas in which the interaction between the academic and commercial sectors in the region could be improved upon, including ensuring that collaboration between them is a two-way street, investigating options to emulate apprenticeship schemes already happening in London, and identifying how such opportunities can be aligned to the needs both of local graduates and local businesses.

Leeds City Region’s academic strengths are certainly a valuable underpinning for its growth in fintech. A strategy which encompassed all relevant stakeholders, including schools, universities and colleges as well as businesses of all kinds, recognised the contribution all could make and the benefits they would look to receive, and provided for good and fruitful communications between all parties, would be critical to making the most out of this natural advantage.

A more cost-effective option than LondonUnsurprisingly one of the first advantages of Leeds as a potential fintech centre mentioned by all interviewees is the lower costs of establishing and running a business, including hiring staff. This is clearly a major advantage Leeds can offer versus London, where the costs of operating in Shoreditch or Level39 are escalating and already prohibitive for many new and existing start-ups, and where human resources are also notoriously expensive.

The research revealed some areas of ‘hidden’ costs which could impact fintechs and which it could make sense to look at in the context of an ongoing fintech strategy – including the cost of train fares between London and Leeds and the limitations of the local airport.

Anything that could be done in a timely way to improve and make more cost-effective transport links between Leeds and the south, Leeds and other regional centres and Leeds and the rest of the world would help to pare down costs and strengthen the economic arguments for supporting a fintech ecosystem in Leeds. Of course HS2 and HS3 should contribute here.

Respondents to the research also highlighted other steps that could be taken to strengthen the economic arguments and encourage start-ups, including financial incentives to open offices and recruit and train staff.


11The views of interviewees on this question varied from ‘very well’ to ‘not at all’, with the majority in the middle. The research found strong endorsement for the notion of further developing the city region as a fintech centre of excellence – from a generic UK fintech perspective as well as a Leeds-specific perspective. In fairness, there were voices pointing out that in that distributed world it may not matter where fintechs are based at all, but on balance there was support for regional fintech.

In terms of Leeds City Region specifically, no interviewee said they couldn’t see its potential to be bigger in fintech, and all agreed such a development, if successful, would bring benefits to their firms, to the region, to the UK, to consumers and to businesses. All said the region needs to take action to realise that potential more fully however, whether doing more, or being more vocal about what is being done already, or both. Having a visible strategy is also essential.

When it comes to comparing the positioning of Leeds in fintech with that of other centres, the other UK regional contender most often named in the same breath is of course Manchester, with the majority of interviewees giving Manchester the edge over Leeds currently, due in no small measure to the greater cohesion in place and ‘noise’ coming from there around fintech. The research suggests Leeds City Region could ‘learn’ from what other cities are doing, but also that Leeds has distinct strengths – including in the financial and legal sectors.

As important as recognising that the Leeds City Region has specific strengths is recognising that rivalry with other cities including Manchester will ultimately be counterproductive: the ‘bigger picture’ for Leeds fintech needs to go beyond the North, to include London, and indeed the rest of the world – since financial services is a global industry and fintech a global phenomenon.

It will clearly be important to consider the relationship between Leeds City Region and other regional centres in the UK, as well as London and the rest of the world, when formulating a strategy for Leeds’ fintech future. The research shows it will also be important to consider pursuing one or more fintech specialisms, building on its native strengths, to put the region ‘on the map’ and to avoid a doomed-to-failure imitation of London. As one interviewee put it, Leeds City Region needs to find its “sweet spot”.

04HOW IS LEEDS CITY REGION CURRENTLY POSITIONED AS A FINTECH CENTRE?


12 For a number of interviewees, a key risk factor to be negotiated by Leeds City Region in any plan to extend its fintech ecosystem would be the degree to which business funding for fintechs would be available in the region. For some, the current picture in the Leeds City Region is not 100% positive, with the draw of London a major challenge. For others, investment is a non-issue, as long as there is enough publicity of Leeds City Region’s fintech push to attract investors in.

Clearly, investors of all stripes, both those operating locally and – crucially – nationally and even internationally (leveraging existing efforts by Leeds to forge trade relationships overseas notably with countries like China) will need to be actively recruited to support fintech in Leeds as part of a coherent and comprehensive strategy. If the right level of profile and publicity can be achieved, the risk of the ‘funding gap’ preventing Leeds City Region from fulfilling its potential can be mitigated.

As regards timing, the research revealed in no uncertain terms that to make an impact on fintech, Leeds City Region would need to act quickly. However, it’s also clear that a fintech strategy could take time to come to fruition, so staying power is required, especially since the ecosystem could be producing solutions on which financial institutions will be reliant for some time to come.

Some patience is likely to be required to allow the ecosystem to reach a tipping point, however. One factor is size and critical mass, and another is quality. In short, there is a need to “act now”, said one respondent “backed by a strategy and vision that will underpin a longer-term commitment”.

05ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS


13A strategy for fintech is essential. This should be inclusive of all impacted and relevant parties. It should start with an audit of what is already happening and which companies are already operating in fintech in the region. An audit would also be useful in determining whether there are infrastructure gaps which would need to be filled to facilitate expansion.

The strategy should involve an active communications campaign to reach out to all relevant parties and solicit their involvement in the strategy. It should be visible. It should be led by a body with a clear remit to push forward and a commitment to inclusiveness and collaboration locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally.

In addition, the strategy should also be in alignment with a bigger “digital blueprint” for the region, and could also consider measures to help increase the digital profile of the region.

One aspect of the strategy should focus on publicity – of the current state and the vision for the future state and all the states in between. The research revealed a resounding agreement on the fact that Leeds City Region’s current fintech credentials and activities are too well kept a secret.

Though they had different ideas as to where and what kind, the majority of respondents were in favour of complementing a strategy and publicity campaign with a physical fintech space (or spaces) in the Leeds City Region. For some, it’s a ‘business park’, for others a ‘cluster’ and for others still a ‘laboratory’ – for some it’s central, for others more peripheral.

Regardless of the terminology used to describe it, interviewees agreed on some key attributes for the physical space. While it should be dedicated to fintech and cutting edge technology, it should contain not just new companies but established ones to “show credibility and attract other businesses”.

Just as PR won’t work without substance behind it, neither will a physical space. Said one respondent: “It would be great to have a laboratory as a real centre of excellence and focal point. It won’t be the solution for everyone though – and we definitely need a strategy as well as a centre.”

06SO WHAT SHOULD LEEDS CITY REGION DO?


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The research clearly shows a belief that the time for ‘fintech for fintech’s sake’ has well and truly passed.

Problem solving – and collaborating with the ecosystem to do it – is key. If solving business problems needs to be the focus of the Leeds City Region fintech push, then some clear choices need to be made up front about which fintech specialism(s) to opt for, to ensure that the problem solving potential is there. Another clear message was that the choice of specialism should, in addition to empowering the Leeds City Region fintech ecosystem to solve real-world business problems, in line with the requirements of local, national and international buyers of fintech, also build on the region’s existing, native strengths.

The research found a wide range of possible specialisms for Leeds City Region in and around the fintech space, set out below. The potential for each would need to be investigated further in collaboration with the extended community of relevant ecosystem participants to validate its potential as a specialism for the region going forward.

• Blockchain. While some interviewees were in favour of this as one possible specialism, a number of questions were raised about its suitability – including whether it is a natural native strength of the region, whether there is room for any regional focus given how much activity around blockchain there is in London, and whether it might already be a little late for Leeds City Region to make a blockchain play. The research did find support for a focus on blockchain outside financial services however – for local government and healthcare, for example (leveraging existing strengths in healthtech and data). Another potential problem to solve around blockchain revealed by the research could be the carbon footprint/green credentials of distributed technologies – which would play to a native Leeds strength. In short, the research suggests that while too strong a focus on straight ‘blockchain for financial services’ might be overplaying the importance of the technology, there could be the potential to take a different approach to distributed technologies, leveraging local strengths, to add genuine value above and beyond what is already being done in the UK and internationally today.

• Data and data analytics. This was by far the most frequently suggested potential specialism for the region, based on its strong existing footprint, reputation and skillset (including Leeds Institute for Data Analytics). Related to this, consumer credit scoring (Callcredit) was mentioned several times as was healthtech, based on the fact that the NHS health records held in the region, and internet of things (IoT) since this is essentially a big data play. The challenge will be finding the crossover between fintech and these data capabilities and specialisms, in a way that could lead to tangible new, problem-solving solutions for the financial industry. Furthermore, there are significant regulatory and legal constraints around consumer data use which would need to be factored in. As a consequence, though this would be clearly playing to existing regional


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strengths, further investigation would be required to determine the fintech-related applications for data and data analytics on which the Leeds City Region fintech ecosystem could focus.

• Insurtech. Unlike fintech, its cousin for the insurance industry is at a much earlier stage of the hype cycle. If Leeds City Region adopted insurtech as a specialism now it would genuinely be early in the curve – which could clearly not be said for any entry it made into pure fintech at this point. The region’s native strengths as an insurance centre would give it real credibility here and indeed there has already been at least one high profile insurtech start-up in Leeds, Beprotectedinsurance.com. Home security start-up Cocoon could also be a good flagship here. An important first step would be to assess the existing, evolving insurtech ecosystem to determine where Leeds City Region could add unique value.

• Future payments. With the forthcoming PSD2 regulation and the associated Open Banking initiative in the UK, the already fast-changing payments landscape is about to become even more volatile as new entrants are empowered to access account data to enable exciting new customer payment propositions. This is a definite driver for banks to work with fintechs. While the big four are likely to take a London-oriented approach, the ‘established challengers’ and new ‘digital challengers’ as well as local players could all be potential customers for future payments propositions developed in a Leeds City Region fintech ecosystem. There is a reasonable background of card and mobile payments expertise in the region to build on. In addition, the region also boasts some key players in another sector impacted by PSD2 – retailers (Asda, Morrison’s et cetera). Retailers are likely to use the opportunity of PSD2 to think about their payments activities to reduce costs, increase service and even move more into provision of financial services. Therefore, the Leeds City Region could have a unique opportunity to bring together financial services players and retailers with fintech providers to develop future payments propositions for the post-PSD2 environment. Again, further investigation of the opportunity would be required.

• Information security. This would play to the tech, digital and data strengths of the Leeds City Region and because fraud and cyber are such huge issues for banking there is likely to be enough work to go around to keep numerous fintech ecosystems around the country – and the world – busy far into the future. The role of aql here will be important. If there is any chance fintech could be a bubble, there is no chance information security will be one. Further investigation would be required to establish the niche or niches in which Leeds City Region could play, and how it could ensure any focus on information security in its fintech ecosystem met the all-important need to solve real world problems for buying customers.


16 As has been thoroughly explored in these pages, with some clear caveats, the stakeholders interviewed for this research showed strong support for the idea of Leeds City Region making a bigger push into fintech. The region has some powerful native advantages to exploit, and some distinct opportunities to carve out a unique, complementary and strategically significant role in the fintech landscape – regionally, nationally and internationally.

Given the current status of fintech – no longer new, slightly less hyped than it has been, at the point of ‘growing up’ and collaborating with the established financial services business and ecosystem – careful thought needs to go into how Leeds City Region can add a useful dimension to the fintech business, nurturing its development to the next level and helping it to embed to deliver real, tangible value to the financial industry and its customers.

To ensure that Leeds City Region itself, and its populations and businesses, as well as UK fintech, reap the maximum benefits from this initiative, Finextra makes the following recommendations based on this research:

• Create a strategy. Look locally, regionally, nationally and internationally to determine what Leeds City Region could do that would be distinctive yet complementary and collaborative. Involve all key stakeholders – from banks, building societies, insurance companies, established financial technology providers, start-up fintechs, universities et cetera – to ensure their buy-in and support, and kickstart and maintain a comprehensive communications approach with the wider ecosystem.

• Create a PR and events campaign. Start now while the strategy is being created and continue going forward. This will help to galvanise the local ecosystem and bring onboard other parties from outside to give credibility, energy and strength to the Leeds City Region fintech push.

07CONCLUSION AND FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS


17• Create a physical fintech space. Whether a laboratory or a cluster or a business park (or all three) – some focal point is needed for Leeds City Region fintech.

• Decide what business problem to solve and from that determine what the Leeds City Region fintech specialism(s) will be. There is no room for a generalist approach, or for fintech for its own sake. The research suggests blockchain, data analytics, insurtech, future payments and information security could be appropriate specialisms.

• Act quickly, but be prepared to support this venture for the long haul. It will take time to come to fruition, and once started, will require staying power in order to reap the full rewards of the effort put in.

• Develop trade and investment links with centres of fintech excellence overseas (building on what is being done with Estonia, Singapore and the Isle of Man) which may be looking to access the UK market but may want a lower cost and easier to navigate base than London.

Finextra would also recommend that Government considers what more it can do to promote fintech in places like Leeds City Region, including providing vision and leadership, funding for catalytic initiatives such as physical space, university funding and forging trade and investment links.


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08APPENDIX A

List of intervieweesDavid Aspin, MunroeKAdam Beaumont, aql Mark Bradbury, Apply FinancialTom Bridges, Leeds City CouncilRichard Carter, Nostrum GroupDr TM Conkar, Leeds Beckett UniversityDamian Crowe, ObillexMark Davison, CallcreditJames Dingwall, Thistle InitiativesGraham Donald, Equiniti PancreditDaniel Gusev, Digital.SpaceVincent Kilycoyne, SASTony Macdonald, Leeds City Region Enterprise PartnershipThomas McCann, RBSSara Parker, VocaLinkThorsten Peisl, Rise TechnologiesAlison Port, Leeds Building SocietyGlynn Robinson, BJSSTariq Sadiq, Leeds City CouncilChris Smyth, Leeds City Credit UnionJacqui Taylor, FlyBinaryAnthony Walton, Iliad SolutionsAnt Warrington, YBSAndrew Watkinson, AvivaJulian Wells, Whitecap ConsultingNick White, Monitise

09ABOUT

Finextra This report is published by Finextra Research.

Finextra Research is the world’s leading specialist financial technology (fintech) news and information source. Finextra offers over 100,000 fintech news, features and TV content items to visitors to www.finextra.com.

Founded in 1999, Finextra Research covers all aspects of financial technology innovation and operation involving banks, institutions and vendor organisations within the wholesale and retail banking, payments and cards sectors worldwide.

Finextra’s unique global community consists of over 30,000 fintech professionals working inside banks and financial institutions, specialist fintech application and service providers, consulting organisations and mainstream technology providers. The Finextra community actively participate in posting their opinions and comments on the evolution of fintech. In addition, they contribute information and data to Finextra surveys and reports.

For more information:Visit www.finextra.com, follow @finextra, contact [email protected] or call +44 (0)20 3100 3670


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APPENDIX A

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20 Leeds City CouncilLeeds is the second largest metropolitan local authority in England and is by far the largest centre of economic activity in the region, with the total value of the economy estimated at £21bn per annum (GVA). Leeds City Council employs around 13,500 people and spends almost £2 billion each year delivering hundreds of different services.

The council’s vision is for Leeds to be the best city in the UK: a compassionate city with a strong economy. Leeds has an established and collaborative cluster of high quality financial and technology firms, cost effective office space and a vast skilled workforce to make the city a low risk, high value location for growth.

Our unprecedented and cost effective access to the right skills, infrastructure and business networks continues to attract innovators in financial technology.

www.leeds.gov.uk

http://www.leeds.gov.uk

Finextra Research Ltd 1 Gresham StreetLondonEC2V 7BXUnited Kingdom

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

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