Why the West Midlands has a strong HQ economy
Home to the industrial revolution and known for its world-class manufacturing heritage, the West Midlands is home to the largest aerospace, automotive and rail clusters in the United Kingdom. For years, major global brands including Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and Meggitt have operated from the region, utilising the West Midlands talented workforce to build components for the world’s leading cars and planes. Even popular culture highlights the region’s industrial history, with the immensely popular Peaky Blinders set in the streets of early 1920’s Birmingham. Yes, we’re an industrial powerhouse, but we’re so much more.
Did you know the West Midlands is home to the largest UK regional Business, Finance & Professional Services sector? Are you aware that we have the UK’s fastest growing technology cluster? How about our network of world-class universities, producing some of the country’s finest talent across the digital, technology and financial services sectors? We’re only scratching the surface as to why the West Midlands has developed such a strong HQ economy.
A high-performance, growing business ecosystem
As the region’s business economy continues to go from strength to strength, it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Global corporations – whether based abroad or relocating from the capital – are eyeing the West Midlands as an ideal location to set-up an affordable business operation. It’s no coincidence that Birmingham city centre hosts the largest regional offices for all the “Big Four” (PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY), an international office for Goldman Sachs and HSBC’s commercial and retail banking HQ. Not to mention our own, home-grown financial service providers like Wesleyan, NFU Mutual and Phoenix Group to name but a few. The region’s strong presence in advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, life sciences and transport manufacturing provides a large end-client base for Business, Professional and Financial Service providers to engage with. So why else do leading businesses continue to choose the West Midlands as the ideal place to locate their headquarters and regional offices?
A rich array of talent
Over 179,000 talented business professionals are employed by companies across the West Midlands Business, Professional and Financial Services sector, whether that is with multi-national enterprises, expanding SMEs or game-changing start-ups. Every discipline from investment and corporate banking, commercial and retail finance, insurance, consultancy, legal and accounting is represented across our thriving economy.
It’s not just traditional skills that are in abundance. As the United Kingdom’s fastest growing technology sector, the West Midlands has a proven record in the development of high-quality computer programmers, with over 22,000 people currently employed in the region. A regional strength in software developers, data science analysts and SAP consultants is attracting the software and digital engineering divisions of major financial and professional services companies seeking to use their expertise in the development of next-generation products and services.
Leading financial and professional talent no longer have to believe London is the sole location to ply their trade; the West Midlands boasts the United Kingdom’s largest financial services cluster outside of the capital, providing top-class career development opportunities. In fact, as of 2018, more people began moving from London to Birmingham than in the opposite direction. We’re also well adept at producing the next-generation of talent, with a world-leading network of eight regional universities and globally-recognised business schools at Birmingham, Aston and Warwick. If your business needs skilled, qualified talent, the West Midlands is the place to be.
A hotbed of innovation
When you combine a thriving business, financial and professional services sector with a huge pipeline of talent, a cost-effective business environment and unrivalled regional connectivity, it’s little wonder that the West Midlands is becoming a hotbed of innovation. Hungry, ambitious and disruptive tech start-ups are settling in Birmingham’s Knowledge Quarter, playing a central role in the region’s rapidly expanding FinTech sector. A £411m community consisting of local founders and international investors, the FinTech industry is well supported across the West Midlands, creating a wealth of opportunity for new entrants. Birmingham is home to Europe’s largest asset management FinTech innovation hub, The Engine Room, run by industry body The Investment Association at Wesleyan’s Birmingham headquarters. The facility has attracted a diverse array of upcoming UK FinTechs and is also home to the world’s first regional focus on no-code programme training.
Recognised by the UK Government as one of only three established FinTech sectors in the country, exciting start-ups are creating disruptive, next-generation products, services and technologies set to revolutionise the banking, investment and finance sectors. The depth and innovation of technology being produced throughout the West Midlands FinTech sector is also a key factor in major international firms setting up headquarters in the region. For them, it’s important they can adopt the most exciting technologies at the earliest possible opportunity.
Gurjit Japag, Managing Director, GS Accelerate Digital Entrepreneur and Head of Goldman Sachs Birmingham, provided a unique insight into how important leading global names regard Birmingham’s innovative environment, when he said:
“Entrepreneurship and innovation have always been a core part of the Goldman Sachs culture, making Birmingham the perfect place to create our new hub. We are delighted to be partnering with Birmingham Tech as they have done a great job of bringing together the tech community, highlighting digital skills opportunities and promoting the region’s tech capabilities”.
Relocating from the capital
When any business case involves choosing a location – whether that’s opening a new office or relocating an existing operation – there will be many considerations. The West Midlands strong business economy, rich pool of talent and innovative environment is of course attractive, but other factors including accessibility and affordability require thought. The West Midlands has both.
Lying at the heart of the United Kingdom, the West Midlands is attracting more companies who are ‘midshoring’ – relocating operations from London to the region thanks to its world-class business economy, affordability and high-quality way of life. Employers can access an established pool of skilled, qualified professionals at a much lower cost than what they’d pay for London’s skills prices. Real estate is also substantially cheaper. Premium, ’Grade A’ office space has an average cost of just £73.81 per square foot, making the West Midlands a competitively affordable destination for established firms and ambitious start-ups.
Every business is only as good as its people and, in many cases, employees move with their employer. Naturally, they’ll want to know about education, culture, entertainment and lifestyle in order to provide the best quality of life for their family. On average, people living in Birmingham are 40% better off than if they were to live in the capital and enjoy a unique, vibrant culture built on diversity and equality. Residents enjoy high-quality education with over 400 schools rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted, while the regions three major cities – and the beautiful towns and villages around them – provide an amazing blend of cultural, heritage, leisure, sport, retail and entertainment opportunities.
By no means does relocating from London mean you’re leaving London. Whether you’ve still got a soft spot for the city or retain business interests in the capital, the West Midlands’ unrivalled connectivity at the heart of the UK means you’re never far away. The region has a world-class transportation network, enabling you to be in London within 90 minutes by car and train. There’s also Birmingham International Airport and the future HS2 route, which is set to reduce the London-Birmingham journey to just 38 minutes.
Welcome to SuperTech
Another reason to bring your business to the West Midlands is SuperTech, the first professional technology (ProfTech) supercluster in the United Kingdom. An exciting cross-sector partnership of leading professional and financial services firms designed to showcase the West Midlands ProfTech sector’s world-leading talent, innovation and enormous investment potential. As many businesses in the region continue to innovate in game-changing sectors including FinTech, LegalTech, PropTech and InsurTech, the partnership aims to enable technology-led service evolution between traditional business silos. This includes encouraging organisations with financial services solutions to consider how they could adapt their services or products to open markets in property, law and insurance, providing direct access to all West Midlands businesses in the process. This unique, integrated approach enhances connectivity and accelerates ecosystem development, supporting widespread growth of professional services technology firms across the region.
If you’re a ProfTech business looking to accelerate market disruption and technological adoption, then this is where you need to be.
Could your business benefit from a move to the West Midlands and its HQ economy?
The verdict is clear – the West Midlands is a fantastic place for companies in the business, professional and financial services sectors to do business. Whether it’s the industry giants such as HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs or the diverse portfolio of growing SMEs and exciting start-ups, all are clear about the opportunities the region provides. From highly-skilled, qualified talent and superb educational establishments to start-of-the-art innovation accelerators and a wealth of business opportunities – not forgetting affordability and accessibility – there’s no doubt the West Midlands is a fantastic place to locate your organisation.
Interested in discussing how your business could benefit? Find out more on our region’s thriving business, professional and financial services sector.