One of the world’s leading online trading platforms, CMC Markets, has announced a major investment into Manchester, as it plans to launch a technology hub in the city. Due to open this summer, its formation marks the FTSE250 company’s UK expansion beyond its London headquarters.

Decentralizing the firm’s London offices will support CMC Markets’ high growth strategy, enabling the firm to harness the region’s top talent, build on its technology stack, expand its product offering and maintain its enviable market-leading position.

With more than 10,000 tech and digital businesses in Greater Manchester, employing more than 86,000 people rich in specialist skills and talent, as well as the city’s enviable reputation as one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in Europe, Manchester was the ideal location for CMC Markets’ national expansion.

David Fineberg, CMC Markets Deputy CEO, commented: “Manchester is quickly proving itself to be one of the leading technology hubs in the country. This investment by CMC will not only enable us to bring jobs to the region, but it will also allow us to build on the city’s vibrant and growing financial technology sector and tap into the diverse, highly skilled workforce.”

Unlike many firms in the sector, CMC Markets undertakes the vast majority of its technology development in-house and over the last decade has invested more than £100 million into its systems and platforms.

Simon King, Head of IT Development at CMC Markets, concluded: “We are truly excited by the potential that an office in the North West brings us. As a company, we know that our clients want to see new product ideas and solutions rolled out quickly, which is reliant on us having the right skill sets at our disposal.

“While many companies may tackle a problem like this by looking to offshore the work, we have chosen to build technology teams in our new Manchester hub where there’s already a growing FinTech sector, a significant talent pool and a number of world-leading universities. We believe we can deliver a step change for the business as well as support the levelling-up agenda,” Simon added.