London gets another finance technology hub

Canary Wharf Group is opening a centre for start-ups to work on financial services technology and services early next year.

The space, known as Level39, will enable accelerator programmes, software engineers and builders of financial services platforms to refine, test and showcase their financial technology products in a ring-fenced environment.

Level39, which will be on the 39th floor of Canary Wharf’s One Canada Square building, will open early next year. The 29,000sq ft site will put firms developing financial services IT close to their potential customers. It will also have space to host events and allow companies to meet potential clients.

George Iacobescu, CEO at the  Canary Wharf Group, said: “Over the past 20 years, Canary Wharf has helped to maintain London’s competitive position by accommodating new business technologies. We aim to continue to do so by offering growing technology businesses with bespoke office space and property services that cater for rapidly changing requirements years into the future. Canary Wharf is seeking to complement and build upon existing successful technology clusters in the City Fringe, West End and South Bank.”

Level39 head, Eric Van Der Kleij said: “We will partner with the world’s best FinTech investors, incubators and accelerator programmes to support businesses as they progress from start-up through to expansion and growth stages. This will be a place for industry experts to come together, share knowledge and develop up and coming talent with a view to bringing new products and services to the market.”

Last week banks, investors and outsourcing giant Accenture opened a laboratory in London to develop technology for the financial services sector.

The FinTech Innovation Lab finds technology start-up companies that could develop their offerings into commercial technology for the finance sector.