London generates £74bn of financial and professional services exports

London generates £74bn of the UK’s financial and professional services exports, according to a new report out yesterday.

The City’s banks, brokers, insurers and law firms’ share of Britain’s £130bn financial and professional services export industry is running at 57 per cent, according to Square Mile lobby group TheCityUK.

However, the body’s research illustrated that the rest of the country is contributing to cementing the UK’s position as a leader in the global finance industry.

The south east was the second biggest exporter, sending £11.8bn worth of financial service work abroad.

Scotland follows in third, exporting £8.8bn of work, trailed by the north west.

“As London is one of the world’s leading international financial centres, it inevitably leads the UK’s exports of financial and related professional services,” Anjalika Bardalai, chief economist and head of research, TheCityUK, said.

“But the idea that London sells these services overseas and the rest of the UK focuses on domestic activity is misleading,” she added.

TheCityUK’s research is based on figures published by the Office for National Statistics in 2020. 

It found that every region runs a trade surplus in financial and professional services, illustrating the UK’s banks, brokers and lawyers are in high demand among foreign businesses.

“The surplus generated by financial and related professional services provides an important buffer against the risks of a widening trade deficit,” Bardalai added. Figures from the CBI yesterday show finance output is up.