Brexit turn off increases IT salaries in UK fintech as overseas experts become harder to attract

Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Fintech in the UK, particularly London, is still growing rapidly but Brexit is a real threat as much needed IT experts from overseas are not as attracted to London.

According to a report from recruitment company Robert Walters the UK is heavily dependent of skills from overseas workers to fuel its fintech sector.

This comes at a time when fintechs are accelerating their hiring. In London for example there was a 61% increase in jobs created on 2018 compared to 2017.

But there could be trouble ahead. “With this increased hiring, the UK’s pending departure from the EU could serve to stifle fintech candidate pools,” said the Robert Walters report.

It said about 25% of professionals working in IT in the UK are from overseas, with the highest concentration of non-UK technology professionals in London. “The capital has historically been able to attract skilled IT professionals from across the EU, yet with the current political climate, perhaps unsurprisingly, this is proving to become more of a challenge.”

It said as a result salaries for IT professionals have increased where businesses are struggling to find the talent they need. It is already estimated that salaries have increased by between 6-8% in certain key specialisms.”

“For businesses with operations across multiple countries, there are now questions being asked as to whether certain roles should be relocated to curb the impact of the talent shortage facing the UK. However, the long-term question remains, how can UK businesses bridge the expanding talent gap?”

IT professionals now make up nearly a third of the UK fintech workforces as recruitment in the sector continues grow rapidly.

According to research from Robert Walters 30% of UK fintech professionals worked in IT in 2018 compared to 24% in 2017.

It also revealed a 25% increase in salaries in for IT roles in fintech.

The UK capital now has the second largest concentration of fintechs after San Francisco, according to the report. It also found that 39% of venture capitalist funding in Europe went to London.