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Academic Venues
Cutting the FinTech cloth
The FinTech North Conference
took place at Cloth Hall Court, Leeds, 23 May 2019
019 marked the 4th annual
FinTech North Conference
which brought together
policy and decision makers
across the public and private sector,
alongside some of the region’s most
well-established business leaders,
financial services, banking and tech
firms that make up this exponentially
growing sector.
It’s a particularly important sector
to the city of Leeds, home to some of
the UKs largest financial and
professional service providers such
as Yorkshire Building Society, CYBG,
Trans Union and First Direct. Cloth
Hall Court therefore provided a
perfect location in the City Centre,
within walking distance to the
financial district of Leeds.
The conference helped address
the ‘FinTech perception gap’,
showcasing just how much the North
has to offer the UK FinTech economy.
With a record-breaking attendance of
300 delegates from leading FinTech
organisations, Fintech North had
exclusive use of Cloth Hall Court,
which was the venue for their
pre-conference dinner in 2018. As
the event continues to grow, Cloth
Hall Court became the host for the
2019 FinTech North Conference,
having outgrown its original venue.
The morning sessions were given
over to an open address and plenary
sessions focusing on the importance
of FinTech to the regional economy
and its fundamental role in the future
development of the Northern
Powerhouse.
As the sector has grown and
diversified, Cloth Hall Court provided
three areas for the three distinct
strands in the afternoon. FinTech
North Innovators discussing topics
such as growth, diversity and funding
Find out more about Cloth Hall
Court at www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk
were situated in the Tweed Suite. The
Wool Room was the location for the
Mortgages session hosted by
Computershare. RegTech, which
focusing on regulatory compliance
within the FinTech sector, hosted by
DAC Beachcroft, took place in the
Denim Room.
Julian Wells, director of Whitecap
Consulting and FinTech North, said:
“FinTech North hosted speakers,
sponsors, and special guests last
year for Cloth Hall’s inaugural VIP
Dinner.
Last year’s dinner was perfect for
setting the tone for the whole
conference; it was relaxed, fun, and
informal, but high quality and in a
prestigious, historic location.
“The city-centre location was
convenient for our guests visiting
from across the UK and
internationally. The team at the
venue were incredibly helpful in
Last year’s
dinner was
perfect for
setting the
tone for
the whole
conference; it
was relaxed,
fun, and
informal, but
high quality
and in a
prestigious,
historic
location.
www.conference-news.co.uk
creating and running a bespoke
event specifically suited to our needs.
We’re very pleased to be back and
on a much bigger scale this year for
the annual conference, which is
particularly special to us as Leeds is
FinTech North’s hometown.”
FinTech North had exclusive use of
Cloth Hall Court allowing them to
transform the venue using 24 colour
themed uplighters, five plasma
screens for electronic signage and
full use of Merchants Hall for a
private drinks reception complete
with an acoustic singer.
The event closed with ‘Champagne
keynote’ speeches on Innovation and
the Future of FinTech from Armin
Eiber, Head of Financial Services
from BJSS and Alex Cole, Senior
Consultant from Market Gravity
delivered in the Herringbone Suite as
the Cloth Hall Court team served
drinks to a rapt audience.