Financial and business services in the U.K., based in the heart of the capital, are the country's biggest exportable service and are now likely to be the key sector that will help plug the current account deficit and bring it back to balance.
The sector currently makes up some 55 percent of U.K. service exports and is set to grow its share as its tarnished reputation post financial crisis is wearing off, a report from EY ITEM Club suggests.
Read More London bank scandals aid 'fintech' dominance
Financial and business services along with other sectors such as travel and communications and improved investment income should move the U.K's current account back towards balance by 2018, the forecasting group found.
Since 2007, the U.K. has lost its share in the global trade of services largely down to weakened demand from the U.S., the U.K.'s largest trading partner.
The financial services sector endured "substantial deterioration" in the global financial crisis years, with export growth slowing from an average of 12.8 percent a year from 1998-2007 to just 0.9 percent between 2008 and 2013.
Read More Queen outlines US-style fracking plans for UK
A sharp drop in financial market activity in the immediate aftermath of the credit crunch along with a legacy of increased regulation and higher capital requirements is set to limit the sector's ability to grow as strongly as it did in future, but given the importance of the sector to U.K. services, "the experience could have been a lot worse," the group said.
"There are signs that the financial sector is coming out of the doldrums. With London's reputation having survived the financial crisis largely intact and the U.K. as a whole continuing to benefit from its natural advantages of language and time zone, we expect financial services exports to continue to recover," said senior economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club Martin Beck.
"The UK's dynamic business services sector also looks set to sustain its recent strong performance, having developed a reputation as a world leader in areas such as legal and accountancy services and latterly enjoyed growing success in the creative industries," he added.
Read More Prince Charles spent $433K on Mandela funeral trip
The group's forecast also suggests services exports will contribute up to 0.3 percentage points to GDP growth over the next five years, helping the "economy to rebalance as well as providing useful support, at a time when austerity will mean that the public sector is likely to act as a drag."