FCA will have 350 staff based in Leeds in 2025 as city 'surpasses expectations'

The FCA opened an office in Leeds in 2022 as part of the regulator’s commitment to establish a national footprint. Over the summer it said it would increase its floor space by nearly 5,000 square feet at its 6 Queen Street office in Leeds.

Mr Hague told the event at The Royal Armouries: "Leeds has surpassed our expectations. We knew that we would be able to pull in financial skills, we knew we would be able to pull in digital skills as well.

"But the breadth of skills we have been able to pull into the FCA has been fantastic. It has really surprised us on the upside what we’ve been able to bring into the organisation.”

He said the quality of life was attracting staff to Yorkshire adding: “We’ve gone from just me in September 2022 to up to 100 in March last year, up to 200 by March this year and today we have about 250. We’re going to open a new floor in 6 Queen Street in January. We will probably be 350 (staff) or bigger next year.

"We hoped we might get to that kind of number but the speed at which we have been able to do it and the skills we have been able to pull in has been spectacular. I don’t think this would have been possible without a supportive business environment. Everybody has invited us in. There’s a convening power here. Of the 250 staff, just 25 of us have relocated from London, everybody else is direct recruitment into the Leeds office from the wider Leeds area. We are pulling some people in from South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.”

Speaking over the summer, Nikhil Rathi, chief executive at the FCA, which employs around 5,000 staff altogether, said: “We have really benefitted from having a base in Leeds – both in the breadth of talent that has joined the FCA and the different perspective our Leeds colleagues bring to the full breadth of our work.”

The summit brought together industry experts and entrepreneurs to discuss the biggest challenges and opportunities facing growing businesses in Yorkshire and the North West. Many speakers highlighted the powerful spirit of collaboration in West Yorkshire.

Zandra Moore, the CEO of Leeds-based Panintelligence, said: “Our businesses are doing more and more work together because it’s a small enough city to get your arms around and you can get to know each other.”

"We all know each other’s businesses and we refer and signpost each other to help each other out.”

Other speakers included Annette Joseph MBE, CEO and founder of Diverse & Equal, Frances Hawkins, deputy head, internal audit EMEA at Goldman Sachs, Achille Traore, of White Label Loyalty, Dawn O’Keefe, co-founder and managing director at Shine Space and Aqila Choudhry MBE, managing director of Love in Care.

The event also attracted members from Goldmans Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses UK leadership, a programme which provides education and business support to leaders of high-growth small businesses and social enterprises across the country.