Northern Square Mile Leeds: Commitment Revealed at UKREiiF

Northern Square Mile Leeds panel at UKREiiF hears the Bank of England now has 10% of its workforce in the city, the FCA has grown from one to 300 staff, and Australian fintech PEXA has invested £150m

The scale of Leeds’ emergence as the UK’s second financial services centre was laid bare at UKREiiF this week, as leaders from the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority, the National Wealth Fund, Lloyds Banking Group, and Australian fintech PEXA took to the stage to discuss the Northern Square Mile Leeds. Chaired by Leeds City Council chief executive Ed Whiting, the panel revealed that 10% of the Bank of England’s workforce is now based in Leeds, the FCA has grown from a single employee in 2022 to 300 staff, and PEXA has expanded from six to 400 employees in five years, investing £150 million into the UK from its Leeds base.

Why This Matters For Leeds

These numbers write a new narrative about Leeds as a financial centre. The Bank of England having 10% of its workforce here, with ambitions to replicate its London operations, is permanent institutional commitment. PEXA investing £150 million demonstrates Leeds can attract international fintech at scale. For Leeds professional services firms, this concentration of regulatory and financial institutions generates sustained demand for legal, accountancy, and advisory work.

The Northern Square Mile Leeds in Numbers

The panel heard from Simon Morley, head of the Bank of England’s Leeds office, that the Bank is looking to do everything it does in London from Leeds, a significant expansion of its original northern hub commitment. The FCA’s Pritheeva Rasaratnam, deputy general counsel, described the growth from a standing start in 2022 to 300 employees as driven by the concentration of talent in the city. Simon Wright, chief operating officer at Australian property exchange platform PEXA, outlined how the company chose Leeds for its UK operation and has since invested £150 million and grown from six staff to 400. Mark Burton of Lloyds Banking Group said the bank’s presence in Leeds is driven by talent, while Susan Urkevich of the National Wealth Fund added to the picture of major institutions choosing Leeds as their operational base outside London.

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“Leeds Today attended the Northern Square Mile panel at UKREiiF, where the Bank of England confirmed it now has 10% of its workforce in Leeds and is looking to do everything it does in London from the city. The FCA has grown from one employee to 300 in four years. PEXA has invested £150 million.”

— Leeds Today, reporting from UKREiiF

50,000 Jobs and the Leeds Reforms

The Northern Square Mile Leeds is more than branding. West Yorkshire’s Cluster Action Plan for business, financial, and professional services sets out an ambition to generate 50,000 new jobs over the next decade, positioning Leeds as the second most significant financial centre after the City of London. The sector already employs nearly 300,000 people across 30,000 firms in West Yorkshire and generates £15 billion in GVA. Leeds is the only city outside London with all three credit reference agencies and has been recognised as one of the UK’s top four fintech hubs. The Chancellor chose Leeds to launch the Leeds Reforms to financial services in July 2025, and GoCardless subsequently chose the city for its Northern Hub. Simi Shah from the City of London Corporation joined the panel, signalling that London’s financial establishment sees Leeds as a complement, not a competitor. The message from UKREiiF was clear: the infrastructure, the institutions, and the talent are already here. The next decade is about scaling what Leeds has built.