Starling Bank has chosen Barings’ Landmark in Manchester to house its new office in the North. The digital bank intends to create up to 1,000 new jobs for the region to fulfil roles across the company, including in operations, engineering, data science and cybersecurity.

The digital lender, which already employs 2,500 people in London, Cardiff, Southampton and Dublin, has chosen Manchester as the home for its Northern expansion due to its deep pool of fintech talent, with the city boasting the largest regional FinTech ecosystem in the UK. Manchester has also been chosen by the new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) to house a financial innovation hub that will drive the government’s ambitions to make the UK a technology and science superpower.

Anne Boden, Founder and CEO at Starling Bank said: “Manchester is one of the most important tech hubs in the UK. London’s success as a global fintech hub enables it to spread wealth and jobs throughout the UK and the wider economy. That’s exactly what we’re doing with this office in Manchester.”

Starling has signed a 10 year lease for Barings’ Landmark’s 14,061 sq ft 5th floor. Landmark has been selected for its central location in St Peter’s Square and for its sustainable design. The office runs on green energy, is built with sustainable materials, encourages employees to make greener transport decisions, and is home to two bee hives which each contain approximately 80,000 worker bees during the summer.

Susanna Yallop, Chief People Officer at Starling Bank said: “We’ve had some outstanding applications for our roles in Manchester already, affirming the city’s place as the tech capital of the North. We want to offer our talent the best of the best; the facilities at Landmark made it the obvious choice for us.”

Deborah Walker, Head of inward investment for Financial, Professional, and Business Services at MIDAS said: “Manchester is the largest regional tech hub outside of London, home to more than 10,000 tech businesses benefiting from our digital expertise and ambitious, collaborative nature.

“We’re excited to welcome Starling to this community not only for their best-in-class banking but their ethics. Manchester city-region is proud of our heritage in disrupting the norm and our history of empowering women dating back as far as Emmeline Pankhurst; here we align with Starling and look forward to working with them to take the financial services sector to new heights.”

Starling has strong ties with the North already through its association with the women’s football community in Lancashire. As the only bank in the UK founded by a woman, Starling donated a series of thousand pound grants to women’s grassroots clubs in the region, and partnered former Manchester City player Jill Scott MBE to launch a £200,000 kit giveaway for girls’ grassroots teams at Astley & Tydesley Girl’s FC. The bank also sponsored the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, where it partnered Lauren Hemp, forward for Manchester City, to launch the first ever fantasy football tournament for the Women’s EURO in the UK.