Yaspa has opened a tech hub in Leeds just a month after securing £8.8m in investment as it looks to expand globally.
The FinTech has moved into Platform by Bruntwood in the city centre, which has modern facilities designed to give its team ‘the best working environment possible’.
The firm combines open banking technology and AI to deliver real-time bank payments paired with verified customer insights – helping regulated businesses, particularly in iGaming, meet compliance requirements, promote safer gambling and create seamless payment experiences.
This is why the London-headquartered business has opened its second base in Leeds, as it is home to some of the UK’s biggest names in iGaming, including Flutter Entertainment’s Sky Betting & Gaming, Paddy Power, Betfair and Evoke’s William Hill brands.
It has recently set up a US entity in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of its expansion plans.
David Turner has also joined Yaspa as its new head of engineering and is set to head up its Leeds team.
He brings experience from more than seven years at William Hill, where he introduced automated sports trading and rose to become head of retail development.
Previously, he served as CTO at Glean, where he built and scaled a cross-functional delivery team in Leeds from just five to 40 people.
Yaspa has grown from a team of 15 to 70 people in just the past 18 months and is now looking to bring on board 10 mid-to-senior level software engineers in the coming weeks.
These first hires will focus on building its US product and, once that squad is at full capacity, the firm will start recruiting for a second squad, aiming for a total of 20 engineers in Leeds before the end of 2025.
“We see Leeds as the ideal location to open our second UK office, with access to a strong pool of software engineering talent,” said Chris Watkins, chief people officer at Yaspa.
“It also has a strong reputation for talent with experience in iGaming, thanks to the companies that are also located there.
“Although we’re open to remote working, we’ve noticed a hybrid working model offers the best collaboration for success and employee growth.
“At Yaspa, we’re really big on culture, collaboration and transparency, so we want people regularly working together in-person.”
Turner added: “When I heard about the opportunity to join Yaspa, it felt like the perfect role for me.
“I am passionate about creating a safe, supportive environment where engineers can do their best work and this role allows me to do exactly that – building a talented team in Leeds while delivering the technology to support Yaspa’s next stage of growth.
“What excites me most is that Yaspa has already done the hard part. It has found its value proposition, proved it works and is now scaling.
“My focus will be on growing the engineering team rapidly, with the aim of having two strong squads in place by the end of the year, initially dedicated to the US proposition, while making the most of the chance to apply best practice from the start.
“Yaspa has the momentum, the vision and the team culture to make a real impact, and I am looking forward to helping take that even further.”