London,
21
July
2017
|
16:21
Europe/London

London's Lord Mayor to 'Build Bridges' with regions

The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Andrew Parmley, is embarking on a tour of the Isle of Man and a number of northern cities in an attempt to strengthen the links between the City of London and regional financial services hubs.

The Lord Mayor will visit the Isle of Man (24 July), his hometown of Blackpool (25 July), Liverpool and Manchester (26-27 July), Leeds (27 July) and Sheffield (27-28 July) and meet senior business leaders and financial and professional services representatives.

The Lord Mayor’s visit follows the recent launch of a Regional Strategy by the City of London Corporation, the administrative body for the Square Mile and representatives of the UK’s financial and professional services industry.

The strategy, published in June 2017, aims to demonstrate London’s value to the rest of the UK and maximise the City’s engagement with the UK’s regional financial centres to encourage economic development in other parts of the country. The strategy also focuses on how the City and regions can work together to deliver increased investment across the UK and encourage UK based financial and related professional services firms to export their products and services.

Lord Mayor Andrew Parmley said:

“The EU referendum clearly showed how there is a split between London and the rest of the country. The City needs to be better at explaining why the UK’s financial services industry is not just City bankers in the Square Mile or Canary Wharf.

“We have a real task on our hands challenging this assumption. The continued growth and success of the City does not come at the expense of the rest of the country. A successful London drives success in the regions and vice versa.

“We need to reiterate how there are over 2.2 million financial and professional services workers in the UK, two-thirds of them found outside of London, and that this sector generates over £71 billion in tax revenues a year. We also need to show how everyone’s daily lives are affected by the financial services industry, from pensions to insurance, mortgages to savings accounts.”

“As a northerner, born in Manchester and raised in Blackpool, I am doing all I can during my year in office to help build bridges between the City and the regions, explain how the City supports economic growth and contributes to so many jobs up and down the country. And the City will do all it can to get the best Brexit deal for Britain – a deal which retains market access, hiring rights and other professional advantages.”

The Lord Mayor’s visit will see him visit the following:

Isle of Man – Financial and professional services account for 58% of GDP of the island. The Isle of Man is renowned for quality in the provision of financial services including banking, captive insurance, fiduciaries, fund management & administration, life & pensions.

Blackpool – In Lancashire, financial and professional services includes 5,000 businesses and employs over 40,000 people. This equates to 13% of Lancashire’s workforce.

Liverpool - One of the UK’s leading financial centres hosting key offices for Santander, Barclaycard, Handelsbanken, RSA and Bibby Financial Services. Wealth management is a particular strength and Liverpool is ranked as the leading location outside of London, with global firms such as Pershing (subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation) and Investec Wealth and Investment, as well as Rathbones Investment Management who employ more than 700 people in the city.

Manchester - Has the largest regional financial and professional services industry outside of London. With a number of global financial services companies located here, the city proudly counts large firms like BNY Mellon, Barclays, RBS and HSBC as major employers and employs over 250,000 in the sector – doubling in size in the last ten years.

Leeds - Leeds is the region’s largest financial centre employing around one-quarter of the region’s workforce in the sector. Leeds is a major centre for mortgage, corporate and retail finance, insurance and stockbroking. The city is also an important centre for equity, venture and risk finance. Many multinational companies are located in Yorkshire, including HSBC, Santander, RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, First Direct and Handelsbanken.

Sheffield – There are over 90,000 employees in the financial services sector within the region. The financial and professional services industry employs 7% of the regional workforce and contributes 14% to the GVA. Large existing employers include HSBC, Capita Group, Aviva, DLA Piper, PWC and KPMG.

Notes to editors

  1. The Lord Mayor’s biography can be found here.
  2. The Lord Mayor began his year in office on 11 November 2016
  3. About the Lord Mayor of the City of London:
  4. The Lord Mayor is head of the Square Mile’s City of London authority for one year and the position is unpaid and apolitical. It is an exceptionally demanding role; the Lord Mayor spends some 90 days abroad and addresses some 10,000 people face-to-face each month (making around 800 speeches a year).
  5. The Lord Mayor represents City businesses and helps the City Corporation advise the Government of the day on what is needed to help the financial services sector to function well. The Lord Mayor frequently travels to represent the City; and travels overseas with the status of a Cabinet Minister.
  6. On average, the Lord Mayor will meet one head of state a month and will meet a prime minister or finance minister each week to discuss financial services, often in conjunction with senior City business representatives. The Lord Mayor, who is unpaid, lives in the Mansion House for the Mayoral year.
  7. More information on the Lord Mayor can be found here.
  1. About the City of London Corporation:
  • The City of London Corporation provides local government and policing services for the financial and commercial heart of Britain, the 'Square Mile'. In addition, the City Corporation has three roles:
  • We support London’s communities by working in partnership with neighbouring boroughs on economic regeneration, education and skills. In addition, the City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, makes grants of around £20 million annually to tackle disadvantage across London.
  • We also help look after key London heritage and green spaces including Tower Bridge, the Museum of London, Barbican Arts Centre, City gardens, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, and important commons in London.
  • We also support and promote the ‘City’ as a world-leading financial and business hub, with outward and inward business delegations, high-profile civic events and research-driven policies, all reflecting a long-term approach.
  • See www.cityoflondon.gov.uk for more details.
  1. The City of London Corporation’s Regional Strategy can be found here.