Financial and related professional services exports from the East Midlands increased by 18% year on year, to £3.7bn, in 2022, according to a new report from TheCityUK.
The report, ‘Exporting from across Britain: Financial and related professional services 2025’ provides analysis of the latest available data (2022) on financial and related professional services industry exports broken down by region and nation across Great Britain.
TheCityUK’s report reveals that in 2022, total financial and related professional services exports from across Britain rose by 18.4% to £158bn. Almost half (47%) of this originated from outside London in 2022.
Financial services exports from the East Midlands accounted for 2.3% of Britain’s total financial services exports, with professional services exports from the region also accounting for 2.3% of total related professional services exports.
In terms of the destination of the region’s financial services exports, around a fifth (21%) went to the EU, with the remaining 79% generated by exports to the rest of the world.
Sandra Wallace CBE, TheCityUK Chair in the Midlands, and Deputy Managing Partner at DLA Piper, said: “The East Midlands’ financial and related professional services industry is a major contributor to the local economy. The region’s export growth in 2022 underscores its expertise. With longstanding strengths in accounting, consulting, and banking, the East Midlands is well equipped to cater to both local and international firms.”
Anjalika Bardalai, Chief Economist and Head of Research at TheCityUK, said: “Financial and related professional services make a significant contribution to the UK economy through their exports. In 2022, the East Midlands had a very strong year of export growth, a trend reflected across almost all Britain’s regions and nations.
“With nearly half of all financial and related professional services exports originating outside London, it is clear that Britain’s regions and nations are playing an important role in catering to international markets, contributing to local economic growth, and reinforcing the UK’s position as a world-leading international financial centre.”
In its report, TheCityUK sets out a series of policy recommendations where industry, government, and regulators can work together to support all parts of the country to continue to grow their export potential. These include:
Improving information about trade opportunities
- Strengthen collaboration between the Office for Investment, UK government bodies, and devolved policymakers, especially in new mayoral combined authorities.
- Align government goals at all levels, linking trade promotion with the Industrial Strategy and Local Growth Plans to maximise regional specializations.
- Improve information sharing between devolved bodies and UK government officials to identify opportunities and better coordination of response.
- Pilot a national brokerage scheme to connect capital with investable projects and enhance the identification, structuring, and presentation of opportunities.
Growing the UK’s share of key global financial and related professional services opportunities
- Swiftly agree an ambitious UK-Switzerland FTA which will provide UK businesses more freedom to operate in Switzerland, secures digital trade, enables access to high-skilled UK and Swiss talent and commits to collaborating on the green transition.
- Conclude a UK-India FTA that liberalises trade in services by easing restrictions on UK businesses operating in India, securing digital trade, fostering regulatory co-operation, providing investment protection, and supporting more short-term movement of business personnel.
- Use the FTA negotiations with Gulf Cooperation Council members to embed regulatory cooperation that promotes frictionless trade and investment as well as enhancing stability and growth in the global economy.
- Put bilateral financial regulatory dialogues with markets such as the US, EU, Singapore, and Japan on a more robust footing by improving transparency, industry engagement and by adopting a more outcomes focussed approach to promote stability and growth in the global economy.
- Use the models developed under the UK-Switzerland Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) to secure more UK trade with other leading financial centres, such as Japan and Singapore.
- Work to boost UK and international investment (such as pensions investment) in high-growth companies and develop the UK’s ecosystem for scale-up investment. This will help to keep fast-growing businesses in the UK and grow our share of the global industry.
Building leadership around key areas of future demand
- Make the UK a global hub for data and technology by using trade and investment policy to lead in global technology and innovation.
- Position the UK as the world’s leading gateway to international investment opportunities.
- Target development work at markets where the industry can deliver the greatest value and capture new market opportunities.
