Minister Carroll MacNeill addresses 15th Annual Enterprise Ireland Financial Services Dinner in London

Minister Carroll MacNeill addresses 15th Annual Enterprise Ireland Financial Services Dinner in London marking record financial services and fintech exports of €600 million to the UK

• The UK is the second largest global export market for Irish fintech and financial services exports, growing by 17% to €597m in 2022.
• Enterprise Ireland clients Codec, Version 1 and Spectrum.Life announce expansion plans and new deals in the UK.
• Cybersecurity firm CWSI announces 50 jobs globally.

Marking record Irish financial services and fintech exports to the UK, Minister of State with responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill T.D., addressed the 15th annual Enterprise Ireland Financial Services Dinner at the Irish embassy in London last night.

Attended by Irish financial services, fintech and technology companies servicing the UK market, the event is an important platform to strengthen and deepen business relationships between the Irish financial services industry and some of the UK’s leading financial institutions, investment funds, fund management insurance companies and market partners.

This year, for the first time, the Enterprise Ireland initiative also incorporated Irish companies with a focus on cyber security, digital transformation and employee wellbeing for whom the Financial Services sector is an important market.

The UK is the second largest export market for Irish fintech globally. In 2022, Irish financial services, fintech and business services exports to the UK, grew by 17% to €597m. Enterprise Ireland technology company exports to the Ualso grew by 30% to €598m in 2022. Overall, Enterprise Ireland client exports to the UK grew by 13% to €9.22bn in 2022, positioning the UK as the largest export market for Enterprise Ireland client companies.

Coinciding with the dinner and reflective of the growth opportunities and UK ambition of Irish business in the UK, a number of Enterprise Ireland client companies had announcements around their success in the UK:

Minister Carroll MacNeill officially opened Cloud solutions company, Codec’s first office in Great Britain. Codec’s expansion into the UK builds on their success in Ireland and across Europe. Working in partnership with Microsoft, their goal is to enable significant digital transformation across the UK market. Codec, which is headquartered in Dublin, has 300 full-time employees across eight European countries with offices in Germany, Poland, Malta and Turkey. Codec currently employ 20 people in the UK and has an existing office in Belfast.

Spectrum.Life, a mental health support platform for employees, announced a multi-year deal with Legal & General, valued at £5m+. This important new customer, covering 1.8m lives in the UK and serving 6,000 legal and general clients, further strengthens Spectrum.Life's UK footprint.

Leading Irish cyber security experts,CWSI have gone from strength to strength in the UK, acquiring AVR International in Reading in 2021 where they now employ 25 people. During the visit they announced their plans to add a further 50 jobs globally.

Version 1 has achieved much of its impressive growth to date based on a number of years of success in the UK. This growth was achieved both organically and through a number of acquisitions in the market (two of which they have made in 2023 alone). Version 1’s UK headcount has continued to expand over the last two years as they serve an ever-growing base of public and private sector customers. During this time, Version 1 has expanded its UK employees by 58%, growing from 996 staff members, to now 1,571, nearly half of their total workforce of 3200 employees. This export growth has in turn strengthened the business by introducing new innovation streams to serve both Irish and international customers.

Speaking at the 15th annual Enterprise Ireland Financial Services Dinner, Minister Carroll MacNeill said, “As a global technology and fintech hub, Ireland is producing world-class innovators that are transforming the financial services industry globally. The UK is a key strategic market for Irish exporters and particularly so for technology and financial services companies. Combined, these sectors achieved exports of €1.2bn in 2022. I am delighted to mark this achievement at the financial services dinner in London and to support our ambitious, exciting and talented Irish companies to further expand and drive innovation in the UK.”

Deirdre McPartlin, Regional Director for Enterprise Ireland UK and Nordics, added, “Irish companies continue to embrace the enormous opportunities that the UK offers. They understand that the common travel area, common law, and a common language place them in a unique position to serve UK customers. Our annual financial services dinner is an important opportunity to deepen trading relationships and demonstrate the capability of Irish exporters in the financial space. In 2022 exports to the UK increased by over €1bn and it remains our largest market. We look forward to continuing to support our clients to scale and thrive in this dynamic market.”

1500 companies recorded exports to the UK region in 2022. Many of these companies have a full-time presence in the market, ranging from a single person sales office to manufacturing operations. The resilience of the UK economy and its scale, coupled with proximity, familiarity and similarities has ensured that despite of the changed trading relationship, the UK remains a market of enormous strategic importance to the entire Irish enterprise base.

Enterprise Ireland has offices in London and Manchester. The team works collaboratively with IDA, Bord Bia, the Embassy of Ireland in London and the consulates in Manchester, Scotland and Wales.