The WDA provides a broad range of services to help businesses in the financial services sector in Wales achieve their objectives. Companies within the sector have benefited from WDA programmes and initiatives to deal with specific business issues such as productivity improvement, marketing and IT. Some examples include:

Productivity improvement

The Principality Building Socirty, Wales’ largest independent financial services company, used Genba, one of the WDA’s Productivity Improvement programmes, to help it achieve its corporate objective to introduce a customer-driven culture.

Marketing

“We have benefited from specialist marketing consultancy facilitated by the WDA, following which we won the “Best use of Media & Marketing “ award at The Insurance Age Awards in 2002,” Evan Thomas, chairman, Thomas Carroll Group. 

IT WDA initiative, Know-How Wales, introduced independent stock market consultants Market Dynamics Ltd to the advanced computing skills at the University of Wales, Bangor. Matthew Bounds, managing Director at market Dynamics Ltd said, “The project has applied scalable distributed systems technology and integrated multimedia web content to a technical analyst business, supporting the company’s development as a global player, yet enabling us to remain in a rural location.” 

Recruitment

“The WDA proved to be really helpful when we were relocating our business to Wales. They assisted us in finding the right site, as well as setting up staff training and recruitment programmes. This was tremendously beneficial to us.” Theo Kortnand, managing director, GMAC UK. 

Setting up or expanding in Wales

Dedicated project managers develop long-term relationships with financial services companies considering setting up or expanding their businesses in Wales. With a detailed understanding of the Welsh financial sector and global sector knowledge, the WDA's project managers can provide the right connections and personal support to smooth the process. They can provide comprehensive advice on grants and financial incentives, as well as assist in identifying suitable property, suppliers and sources of expertise.
 
“High operating costs and recruitment issues in London led us to look for an alternative location for all the help we needed. It assisted us in finding a suitable property, guided us through the grant application process to secure adequate funding and even helped me and my family to find a new home and schooling for our children, which made relocating to Wales from Norway so much easier than I had anticipated.” Cato Syversen, managing director, Creditsafe.com. 

Ongoing support for financial services companies

WDA account managers develop long-term relationships with financial services companies and provide support and guidance to help them achieve their goals.  
 
“We have a close working relationship with the WDA. Their friendly and professional approach has been very reassuring and our partnership with the WDA has meant that we have been able to expand our operation in Cardiff which we know will add to our business as a whole.” Mark Winlow, managing director, Zurich Personal Lines.