A financial industry base for over 200 years, Norfolk is home to major businesses within the sector, including Norwich Union, Marsh and Central Trust, which serve the UK from Norwich.

Central Trust has recently announced it will create 1,500 jobs over the next four years thanks, in part, to the Financial Industry Group, for creating the environment and infrastructure to enable the sector to thrive.

Financial services make the largest private sector contribution to the economy of Norfolk and more than 14,000 are employed in the industry in Norwich alone.

Fact File

• 1 in 3 employees in Norwich work in the financial and business services
• between 2000 and 2004 there was a 5.2% gross value added growth in this sector
• Norwich was the birthplace of Barclays plc and the UK’s largest insurer, Norwich Union
• Norwich is home to a new £5 million National Skills Academy in Financial Services, one of only four in the country