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Ireland Opens Markets at the London Stock Exchange to Celebrate Deepening UK-Ireland Innovation Ties
20th
November 2025
Ireland’s Minister for Financial Services Robert Troy T.D., today became the first Irish government minister to open markets at the London Stock Exchange, marking Ireland Day and the growing innovation partnership between the UK and Ireland’s financial services sectors. Hosted by Enterprise Ireland, the event highlighted record investment, expansion and landmark acquisitions by Irish financial services and fintech firms in the UK.
Pictured on the balcony were:
Ireland’s Minister for Financial Services, Robert Troy T.D., Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, Kevin Sherry, Executive Director, Enterprise Ireland, Deirdre McPartlin, Enterprise Ireland Director of the UK and Nordics and leading Enterprise Ireland financial services and fintech client companies, including Binarii Labs, Clear Strategy, CWSI, Daon, Fenergo, Fexco, Fund Recs, ID Pal, pTools and Tines.
LONDON – Ireland’s Minister for Financial Services Robert Troy, today, became the first Irish government minister to open markets at the London Stock Exchange (LSE), marking Ireland Day and the growing innovation partnership between the UK and Ireland’s financial services sectors.
Hosted by Enterprise Ireland – the Irish government’s trade and innovation agency and Europe’s third-most active VC investor in fintech – the event highlighted record investment, expansion and landmark acquisitions by Irish financial services and fintech firms in the UK, including Ireland’s Fexco Group’s acquisition of Sainsbury’s Travel Money this year. The acquisition marks a major expansion for Fexco in the UK’s retail foreign exchange market. The deal announced during the summer, increases Fexco’s UK retail footprint to more than 460 locations, as well as introducing over 18 million Nectar members to Fexco’s travel money services.
Minister Robert Troy commented: “Ireland and the UK are indispensable partners in today’s financial services ecosystem. Sustained investment in Irish fintech and its growth and expansion in the UK, has played a pivotal role in shaping excellence across the City and the wider UK market. Today’s announcements demonstrate how Irish firms are not only investing at home but are also creating jobs and establishing a permanent presence in the UK, benefiting both the UK and Irish economies.”
Supported by nearly €1 billion in VC funding over the past five years, Enterprise Ireland-backed fintech companies are tackling critical industry challenges in compliance, data analytics, cybersecurity, risk management and digital transformation across the UK and global markets.
More than 200 Enterprise Ireland financial services and fintech clients are now active in the UK, investing, scaling and partnering with the country’s leading financial institutions. Today’s ceremony coincided with significant announcements from four Irish firms addressing pressing UK market needs:
- Version 1, Ireland’s largest home-grown technology company, will mark its 30th anniversary in 2026 and continues to deliver on its major announcement of 1,000 UK AI-related jobs and a £40 million investment programme. Recently, its collaboration with NatWest to embed responsible AI governance across the organisation won “Best Data Governance with AI Initiative” at the DataIQ awards.
- Fenergo, the global leader in client lifecycle management, currently employ 35 people in the UK and will create 10-15 new UK roles over the next year.
- CWSI, a leading Irish cyber security provider, today announced a strategic partnership with Bristol-based Changing Social, an AI Workplace Transformation consultancy. The collaboration is expected to generate revenues in excess of $40m in the next 24 months across Licensing, Consultancy and Associated Services. Together, the two Microsoft partners will help organisations unlock the productivity and innovation potential of Microsoft Copilot and other AI-driven technologies without compromising on security, compliance, or control.
- Clear Strategy, a leading Irish data and AI consultancy, is expanding from 34 to 50 specialists in the coming quarter as it grows its UK presence and launches ‘Tempo’, its reference data management solution, into the UK market.
- ID-Pal, the global leader in AI-powered identity verification, has unveiled the latest enhancements to its fraud detection feature, ID-Detect. Fresh off winning Biometric Authentication Innovation of the Year at the 2025 Payments Awards, ID-Detect’s authentication engine identifies signs of digital manipulation and the markers of AI-driven document fraud. Recent results include preventing fraud valued at +£3m for car-financing platform Finset.
Kevin Sherry, Executive Director, Enterprise Ireland, added: “The UK is Ireland’s largest country export market and a strategic priority for Irish tech, financial services and fintech companies. We are laser-focused on forging high-value business connections and supporting Irish firms to enter, scale and invest in the UK.
“The global financial industry faces a number of mounting pressures – regulatory complexity, escalating cyber and fraud risks, green compliance, data silos and AI bias. Irish firms are building world-class customer solutions that are agile, scalable, and secure. They’re helping UK institutions navigate regulatory complexity, unlock new efficiencies, and stay competitive in a fast-moving landscape.”
Hosting the Irish delegation at the London Stock Exchange today, Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, said: “Today has been a historic day. We are delighted to have welcomed Minister Robert Troy, the first Irish government Minister to open our markets, alongside Enterprise Ireland and some of Ireland’s most innovative companies. This celebration reflects the long-standing and important ties between the financial services industries of the UK and Ireland.”
The UK market is the largest country export market for Enterprise Ireland-backed client companies. In 2024, 29% of total client exports, valued at €10.52bn, went to the UK and representing a 4% increase on 2023. Tech, financial services and business services exports to the UK accounted for €1.2 billion in 2024, with tech increasing by 12% and fintech increasing by 5% on the previous year.
Ireland Day at the London Stock Exchange will conclude with a dinner reception at the Irish Embassy in London, hosted by the Ambassador to Great Britain, Martin Fraser, attended by close to 100 senior leaders from across the UK and Ireland’s financial services industry.
Irish companies participating in Ireland Day at the London Stock Exchange, included: Binarii Labs, Clear Strategy, CWSI, Daon, Fenergo, Fexco, Fund Recs, ID Pal, and Tines.
END
For reference, please contact:
Marika MacCarvill, Communications Manager – Ireland & International
marika.maccarvill@enterprise-ireland.ie/ 00 353 86 171 2568
or press@enterprise-ireland.com
About Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland is the Irish government’s trade and innovation agencyresponsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. We work in partnership with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. In this way, we support sustainable economic growth, regional development and secure employment.
About Fexco
Fexco is a leading Irish financial services and technology company, specialising in payments, foreign exchange, and business solutions. Employing nearly 3,000 people and with operations in over 50 markets, Fexco delivers innovative financial products and managed services to banks, businesses, and governments worldwide. The company combines deep sectoral expertise with a strong focus on customer experience and digital transformation. They recently acquired Sainsbury’s Travel money.
Payments and FX | Business Services | Innovation | Fexco
About Version 1
Version 1 is a leader in digital transformation and AI, partnering strategically with global organisations to transform and adopt technology and drive innovation in a responsible way. With an end-to-end offer designed to address the most difficult challenges faced by clients, and supported by the latest technologies, Version 1 is focused on delivering successful client outcomes through the power of world-class teams. This pledge is underscored by the key principles of the organisation, a triangle of balanced priorities comprising customer success, empowered people, and a strong organisation. Version 1 is made up of a fast-growing team of 3600+ people, all innovating differently to drive value through sustainable transformation.
About Fenergo
Fenergo is a leading global provider of SaaS-based financial crime compliance and client lifecycle management (CLM) solutions, empowering financial institutions to streamline onboarding, KYC, AML screening, transaction monitoring, and regulatory reporting. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Fenergo serves over 200 clients—including major banks, asset managers, and fintechs worldwide—with its innovative FinCrime Operating System, powered by Agentic AI for enhanced efficiency and risk management. Acquired by Astorg and Bridgepoint in 2021, the company has raised $275 million in funding and continues to drive digital transformation in the financial services sector.
In July this year, Fenergo announced the creation of 300 new jobs at its global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, as part of a €100 million Research, Development & Innovation (RD&I) expansion plan supported by Enterprise Ireland. This initiative aims to bolster the company's AI-driven financial crime compliance and client lifecycle management solutions amid growing global regulatory demands.
About Clear Strategy
Clear Strategy is an award-winning, leading data and analytics organisation that helps businesses harness the power of data to turn challenges into opportunities. Founded in 2018, Clear Strategy was built on a single, yet compelling, insight: how organisations use data determines whether they succeed or fail. With a mission to be recognised as the ‘No. 1 Data Company’, Clear Strategy helps clients unlock the full potential of their data, driving measurable value through innovative products and solutions. Clear Strategy provides end-to-end data services spanning data strategy, modern data platform architecture and build-out, reporting and visualisation and the practical implementation and adoption of AI. Operating from offices in Dublin and Lisbon, with a growing presence in the UK, the company works across multiple sectors - helping organisations modernise how they manage and use data in a governed, secure and scalable way.
About ID-Pal
ID-Pal is an award-winning, ISO 27001 and ISO 9001-certified SaaS provider of AI-powered identity verification and AML screening solutions, enabling businesses to seamlessly verify customer identities and addresses in real-time across any channel—simply, securely, and conveniently. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, ID-Pal combines biometric, document, and database checks in a single GDPR-compliant platform, supporting over 7,000 identity documents and 200 verified address data sources across 200 countries. Available out-of-the-box, as an API/SDK, or via Salesforce AppExchange integration, the company serves enterprises and SMEs in fintech, banking, and beyond, with zero access to customer data for enhanced privacy. Backed by $12 million in funding from investors including Act Venture Capital and Inspire Investments, ID-Pal has earned accolades such as Best RegTech Solution at the 2024 MPE Awards and Digital ID Tech of the Future at the 2024 PayTech Awards, while ranking in the RegTech 100 list.