Leyton UK is opening a new professional services hub at Metro House in Belfast, creating 12 roles over the next two years, giving HR and talent acquisition teams in professional services a view of where specialist advisory hiring is expanding. Invest NI offered £66,000 (€77,000) of support towards the new jobs.

Leyton UK is the British arm of Paris-founded consultancy Leyton, which specialises in innovation funding, R&D tax incentives and business performance optimisation. The firm, whose parent company is Thesee Sas, has more than 280 specialists across science, engineering and software. Revenue figures are not disclosed.

Invest NI is Northern Ireland’s regional business development agency, represented in the announcement by George McKinney, interim director of international business.

The strategic logic is delivery capacity: the hub is intended to expand Leyton’s delivery capability, strengthen its multidisciplinary advisory services and build a scalable operation for existing and new clients.

Brian Graham, managing director of Leyton UK and Ireland, said: “After a series of engagements with Invest NI, it became clear to us Northern Ireland offers access to a highly skilled talent pool and strong business environment making it an excellent location from which to support our clients.”

The new roles include business development managers, sales development representatives and consultants in technical, capital allowance and finance disciplines, with Graham adding that the firm is building on its current Belfast team.

The hub supports a business of global scale, with Leyton working with more than 50,000 clients, employing around 3,000 people and securing more than €10 billion in funding for clients.

George McKinney, interim director of international business at Invest NI, said: “Leyton considered a number of alternative locations across Great Britain and Ireland, so its decision to choose Belfast is a strong endorsement of our highly skilled workforce, competitive business environment and ability to support international companies as they grow.”

For the sector, the hub shows a global advisory firm placing delivery capacity in Northern Ireland to access specialist talent, with hiring concentrated in business development, consultancy and finance roles.

Source: The Irish News