New Midlands hub for Accenture

It is part of plans to create 1,500 new jobs outside London and the South East by 2024.

The hub will be located in Norfolk House, off Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham, adding to Accenture’s existing operations across the UK, with hubs in Scotland, the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the South East.

It will bring together and expand Accenture’s capabilities to serve clients both locally in the Midlands and across the UK, with a particular focus on driving innovation in the financial services and digital manufacturing sectors.

Over the past two years Accenture has expanded in the Midlands following a number of acquisitions including retail technology and supply chain consultancy REPL Group, SAP partner Edenhouse and customer experience specialists Spark44.

Accenture’s activity in the region has led to strong relations with the University of Birmingham and Aston University, and the business is currently working on Birmingham’s Net Zero City Sprint. Launching over the coming months, the NZCS aims to create a coalition across public and private sectors to prioritise and then deliver initiatives to move the city towards meeting its net zero targets.

Paul Stanley, financial services lead and Midlands lead for Accenture, said: “We are committed to contributing to regional prosperity around the UK, and the Midlands is at the heart of our growth ambitions. We continue to help our clients accelerate the digital transformation of their businesses at scale and speed.

“Building on the Midlands’ manufacturing heritage, financial services strength, world-class education and connectivity to the rest of the UK, our Midlands hub will bring even stronger connections between our local people, clients and the wider community as well as being a focal point for our innovation expertise.”

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “This milestone investment places the West Midlands at the heart of Accenture’s UK growth plans, delivering hundreds of high-value new jobs to meet rising local demand.

“The scale of the firm’s expansion reflects the extent of economic opportunity in the region, with the West Midlands boasting the UK’s largest business hub outside London and largest concentration of cross-cutting industry strengths. Our emerging capabilities in fields including industry 4.0, fintech and low carbon technologies have helped fuel Accenture’s innovation-oriented, client-driven expansion, which includes a shared vision to drive forward the net zero agenda.

“It has been a pleasure to support Accenture over recent months and I’m confident their new Birmingham-based hub will become a nationally significant centre for specialist consultancy and innovation.”

Councillor Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “Accenture’s new Midlands hub reinforces Birmingham’s reputation as a high-value and full-service professional services cluster, driven by a diverse range of FTSE listed companies and a booming headquarter economy. Such a considerable investment from the consultancy firm also signifies the breadth of quality talent in the region, particularly in the field of technology, where an evergreen digital employment base totals 76,000 people, in the wider West Midlands area.

“I’m delighted Accenture have chosen Birmingham for this substantial investment and look forward to supporting their growth journey in the region, which includes the creation and fulfilment of new, local jobs in professional services.”