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The
start-ups employ between 10-18 people each and are interested in
issues such as the price per square meter of commercial
property, the labor market situation and the availability of
accommodation, Berlin Partner Director Stefan Franzke said.
"The most concrete enquiries are coming from London fintechs
(financial technology firms). They are considering a move to
Berlin so as not to lose access to the European single market,"
Franzke told a news conference.
Along with other European cities, Berlin is jostling for a piece
of London's fintech industry and has stepped up efforts to
promote the German capital as an affordable and creative
alternative to other centers.
Berlin's Senator for Economics, Technology and Research Cornelia
Yzer has sent hundreds of letters to British firms and has
traveled to London Fintech Week to lobby start-up founders.
Berlin Partner has also launched a website in English containing
information about how to set up a business here and will open a
pop-up lab in London in October to try and woo more companies.
Berlin attracted almost 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in
venture capital investment in start-ups in 2014, outpacing
London, Ernst and Young said in a report last year.
The German capital has around 100 fintech start-ups, including
German mobile financial services firm Number26. Affordable
living costs, access to talent and the widespread use of English
are among its advantages, Franzke said.
He said he expected Berlin to get enquiries not just from
UK-based firms but also from foreign start-ups that were
originally interested in London but were now looking elsewhere.
Nonetheless, the competition with rival cities that are all
hungry to host fintech firms will be tough. Franzke says he sees
Amsterdam - which used to be home to a number of global banks
and has fast data connections - as Berlin's biggest competitor.
(Editing by Mark Potter)
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