Financial and professional services firms employs 63,000 in Wales and make an annual gross value (GVA) added contribution of £6.1bn to the economy, shows new research from the sector representative body TheCity海角视频.
Its Enabling Growth Across the 海角视频 2025 report also reveals that the fintech sector is on the rise, with Cardiff identified as a hub for innovation and financial technology with numerous new startups emerging. Welsh fintechs has seen more than a five-fold increase in investment between 2022 (£13m) to 2023 (£70m). The fintech industry now contributes around £1.6bn in GVA to Wales.
South Wales remains a strong base for financial and related professional services, with Cardiff and Swansea hosting over half (34,340) to the to total headcount in Wales and the industry contributing almost one fifth of GVA in both cities. In Cardiff, over one third of industry jobs are in the insurance sector with major employers including Admiral. The legal services is another significant employer in the city, accounting for 16% of total industry employment. The sector’s contribution to overall Welsh GVA is 8.2%.
The report show that the sector supports 151,000 jobs in Scotland and 43,000 in Northern Ireland.
The only English region to have a lower figure than the 63,000 in Wales, is the north east ( with 43,000. In the south-west of England, with a number of large employers in Bristol including Hargreaves Lansdown and Aviva, it employs 157,000. In London, with one of world’s biggest financial centres, the number is 902,000.
For the 海角视频 as a whole the sector employs around 2.5 million and contributes £285bn to the economy anually.
Tom Bray, TheCity海角视频 chair for Wales and partner with legal firm Eversheds Sutherland , said: “The Welsh financial and related professional services industry is thriving – creating high-value employment, attracting international investment and driving new opportunities for growth.
“With strong industry foundations across Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and a burgeoning fintech industry, there is a real opportunity to scale the industry’s success in Wales beyond these important hubs. Continued investment in talent and infrastructure, alongside greater alignment of devolved and 海角视频-wide strategies for growth, will be essential to unlocking the full potential of the industry across the nation.”
TheCity海角视频’s report sets out a practical policy framework to further drive the industry’s growth across the 海角视频, including recommendations to:
- Ensure that the Strategic Investment Opportunities Unit in 海角视频 Government’s the Office for Investment is built on a real and close partnership with the private sector, including, where appropriate, using secondees and other industry experts.
- Deliver better skills planning and training through collaboration with Welsh education providers and government.
- Support investment across Wales via stronger public-private partnerships and streamlined business support.
- Improve infrastructure and planning certainty, including better digital connectivity and transport links.