Financial services

As one of only two global financial centres, and one of the eight priority growth sectors of the Modern Industrial Strategy, the UK is one of the world’s leaders in asset management, wholesale services, capital markets, sustainable finance, and the European leader for infrastructure finance. In the UK, firms can unlock powerful growth opportunities across cutting-edge sectors like fintech, insurance and reinsurance, sustainable finance, capital markets, asset management, wholesale services, smart data, and AI.

Opportunity highlights

The UK offers a dynamic environment for firms to capitalise on high-growth, high-impact opportunities across the evolving financial and technological landscape.

Fintech

The UK is widely regarded as Europe’s fintech capital, with fintech companies representing over a third of all unicorns in the country. A robust fintech funding ecosystem, supported by leading venture capital firms and sophisticated UK-based individual investors, has helped nurture fintech innovators such as Monzo and SumUp.

The UK also has a fintech adoption rate of 71%, compared with the global average of 64%, demonstrating its strength as the market for launching innovative products.

Digital economy and AI

The UK has the largest and most advanced technology ecosystem in Europe. Between July and October 2024, the UK attracted £25 billion of investment into data centres, with international business charging UK AI, such as Microsoft's £2.5 billion commitment through to 2026 . This momentum is unlocking major opportunities in the digitalisation of financial services. Firms can tap into the UK’s progressive regulatory environment, including the forward-looking Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and its AI Sandbox, while benefiting from the UK’s position as the recipient of 40% of all European VC funding. Significant potential also exists to harness AI for process optimisation, generative AI in customer support, and advanced big data analytics.

Asset management

The UK has the largest number of asset management firms in Europe, with long-standing access to global assets and markets. UK asset managers are positioned to seize opportunities in infrastructure, private equity and alternative assets, aligning with national clean growth and innovation priorities across the growth sectors.

Insurance and reinsurance

The UK has the largest specialty reinsurance market globally, with more than $150 billion of premium income, bolstered by a flexible and responsive regulatory approach that proactively removes barriers to entry, and a market defined by eager insurance technology adoption.

Sustainable finance

The UK is at the forefront of agenda-setting in climate change advocacy. It was the first G20 country to mandate climate disclosures. London tops the Global Green Finance Index, and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) sets comprehensive sustainability standards. Firms can respond to strong demand for sustainable investment products or create and launch their own, supported by £27.8 billion from the National Wealth Fund, and $28.9 billion in green bonds.

Capital markets

The UK offers sizable access to capital for raising debt and equity, with a strong global investor appetite for UK-listed companies. New FCA listings rules are revitalising UK capital markets by streamlining Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and secondary raises, while maintaining investor protection. Reforms include dual-share structures to strengthen director control, a simplified single listing category to replace the ‘premium’ and ‘standard’ tiers, greater flexibility in purchasing investment research, and the creation of the new PISCES market for privately owned companies.

Venture Capital (VC)

The UK is the world’s third largest venture capital market, behind only the US and China. The UK’s share of global VC investment has risen from 3.4% to 5.8% over the last decade. The UK is your springboard to Europe’s largest start-up ecosystem and a vibrant scale-up sector, as well as opportunities to invest alongside Limited Partners (LPs) and leading global VC firms such as Sequoia, NEA, Accel, and Bessemer.

Commercial maturity

The UK is the world’s largest net exporter of financial services, with a trade surplus of £99.3 billion. The sector accounts for more daily Forex (FX) trading than the US, at $3.8 trillion, and attracts the largest private equity investment in Europe, totaling £29.4 billion in 2023.

Defined by its globally connected nature, the UK acts as a conduit for international financial transactions, representing 14.6% of total global cross-border lending and 38% of global foreign exchange turnover.

Key UK assets

Two thirds of financial and professional services jobs are outside London, with world-leading clusters of expertise and specialists across the country.

Greater London

London is one of the world’s top two financial centres, underpinned by its world-class universities, infrastructure, and deep pools of talent. It hosts many of the world’s leading financial institutions and is an international leader in fintech and sustainable finance.

Scotland

Glasgow’s thriving international Financial Services District hosts companies such as J.P Morgan and Barclays and is known for its technology services and significant infrastructure investments. It also has close proximity to Edinburgh, a historic global financial centre, providing top-ranking global universities and research institutions.

Northern Ireland

An important financial services cluster with many international investors, such as Citi Group and FinTRU, having significant operations in the city. Home universities provide top finance and tech graduates. Northern Ireland’s capital also offers a cost-effective business environment for those looking to set up in the region.

Cardiff City Region

A thriving financial hub and a leader in price comparison sites, with emerging fintech and insurtech sectors. Firms such as Starling Bank and Admiral have established operations in the city. This is backed by leading universities providing top talent for businesses

Research and Development (R&D) capability

The UK’s financial services sector is built upon decades of collaboration between academia and industry. A nationwide network is reflected in 70% of financial services located outside of London. In 2023, total UK R&D expenditure reached £72.6 billion, an increase of £14.3 billion since 2018.

UK universities are world-leading and play a key role in the financial services R&D ecosystem. Universities, such as University College London (UCL), Imperial College London, Edinburgh, Leeds, York, Glasgow, and Cardiff, actively support the sector and its emerging technologies through research hubs, accelerators, and commercialisation initiatives. Firms can also benefit from the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships implemented by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Catapult Network, and Patent Box Tax Incentives, reducing tax on profits linked to IP to 10%.

Business and government support

The UK offers businesses competitive support and incentives to drive growth. The new Office for Investment: Financial Services is the front door for international financial services firms wishing to set up or expand their operations in the UK.

The R&D tax relief scheme offers up to 33.35% of company R&D spend recovery as corporation tax reduction or cash repayment. Whilst Innovate UK provides funding for highly innovative companies of all sizes, with amounts ranging from £25,000 to £10 million.

Talent

International businesses chose the UK for its renowned national talent, with approximately 2.4 million employed across financial and financial related professional services. This is bolstered by a rich pipeline from academia, with 4 of the world’s top 10 universities and 11 of the top 100 business schools globally located in the UK.

The financial service sector has received renewed commitments from the UK government in its Invest 2035 strategy, with the new Global Talent Taskforce and Global Talent visa. This will improve the UK’s offer by supporting top talent relocation, with an expansive international network, connecting elite people and facilitating smooth transitions.

Expand your business in the UK

Get practical guidance and insights to help you successfully set up in the UK.