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Regional capitals bullish as London loses monopoly on talent

Ref. PR-02140

August 2009 – The vast majority of senior finance leaders (80%), based in cities such as Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Milton Keynes, believe that their region has performed better through the recession than London, findings from specialist finance and accounting recruitment firm Robert Half have revealed today.

Senior finance professionals from companies across the London area, including renowned London-based industries, national television stations and airports based around the city, responded to the questionnaire regarding the legacies that will follow the global credit crisis, as they came together to debate how post-credit crunch finance functions and businesses could look.

The accompanying report, entitled ‘The Post-Credit Crunch Finance Team’ highlights specific reasons for such optimism, including the opportunities that companies now have to build leaner, more efficient organisations that are staffed by more rounded, up-skilled finance professionals. In addition, there was an increasing feeling from those questioned that more possibilities now exist for strong businesses to acquire rival companies and market share inexpensively.

Finance leaders, based in regional hubs across the UK, were particularly positive about the strength of their companies, with over a third (37.5%) predicting that their business would emerge from the recession in a considerably stronger position than when they had entered it. However, of those finance leaders based in London, only 17% believed that this will be the case for their business.

The war for talent

As Neil Owen, Regional Director for Robert Half UK, points out “Internal mobility within the UK is on the increase as candidates with families to support and mortgages to pay are more open to relocation than before.  Whilst this may mean some move away from London to other regional hubs, there is no doubt that London remains a global financial centre and will continue to attract the best talent from both the UK and abroad.”

A plausible reason for the emerging strength of regions outside of London is the notion that the attractiveness of working at a large multinational business is now on the decline. Almost half of all of the finance leaders questioned (44%) perceived that this stark change has occurred, with talented individuals increasingly becoming more attracted to small / medium enterprises and the public sector.

The efficient workplace

Across all regions, there was a clear feeling that the current economic climate had provided a healthy does of reality which will lead to greater efficiencies, less waste and the development of more coherent organisations that have fewer silos.

Supporting this, 44% of all those questioned asserted that one of the most positive results of the recession are the leaner teams that have been created. This is due to the process of ‘upskilling’ that is taking place in many organisations as employees begin to take on new roles outside of their usual remit.

  • The report ‘The Post-Credit Crunch Finance Team’ also highlights that;
    While the public sector has thus far suffered less from the recession due to spending plans being maintained it faces the dual problems in coming years of funding cuts and increasing demand on services
  • The finance function has become much more central to the activities of many organisations with many finance professionals now taking part in strategic decision-making
  • A lack of availability of bank finance continues to pose problems for business, particularly as credit insurance has also dried up leading to credit control problems

The report was compiled following a series of executive roundtable discussions on the topic of ‘The Post-Credit Crunch Finance Team’.  Over 70 senior level finance managers from large international organisations and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) attended the roundtables which were hosted by Robert Half and held in Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Milton Keynes and London.

Document: Roundtable Report - London August 2009

Contact Us

For further information please contact:

Michelle Whitman
Robert Half International
Tel : 020 7331 2222
Email : michelle.whitman@rhi.net