What University’s are best for a career in Finance?

Have you considered Warwick economics plus language?

Exeter Business School is widely regarded as one of the best in the country, and they offer a work placement scheme which can be helpful for breaking into a career in finance. However, that being said, all of the above unis are very good, so just pick the one where you think you'll have the best time. That is what uni is all about after all! PS: if you enjoy studying a language, I definitely would, can come in very useful and be a nice break from your economic modules. Look out for "with german" degrees rather than "and german" degrees. This might be a better balance for you if you still want to prioritise economics.

I did not do a language at A level so sadly not an option

Currently just finished my A Levels. My firm choice was Economics and German at Exeter for AAB. However on results day I exceeded this instead getting A*AA.
This leaves me with some different possibilities and questions:
Is Nottingham/Leeds much better than Exeter regarding Economics (they are the two better options for this degree I have)
Is doing pure economics degree much better than a Econ/German joint degree
Is doing a degree which comprises of economics but is not pure at a better university such as UCL better than both of the above options?

Ah, ok. Did you do a level maths - in which case which grade?

Depends what you want to do.
The flying start programs come with a direct employment line into PwC. The degree apprenticeships at kpmg/ey/pwc/deloitte/BMO/J.P. Morgan/GS/Citi/Barclays etc. similarly provide a great route into major international firms in all sorts of roles.
If you want to be a quantitative analyst at a prop house probably a MSc & PhD in maths & financial mathematics modeling from Cambridge/Oxford/Imperial.
If the goal is IB/S&T then going to a target or semi-target is more important but probably finance or economics will provide a solid foundation in relevant theory.

For a career such as IB or S&T would a pure economics degree be required? Would going to UCL, which is more target than Nottingham for example but doing a degree such as Politics, History and Econ which is less mathematical be a more suitable choice?

Going to target is more important for true “investment banking” roles & most s&t are not highly analytical driven, you have to be numerically competent (and able to competently navigate things like excel) but going to a target is probably more valuable then the degree subject. It’s often spoken about how the big banks recruit a diverse range of subjects. What they will expect is someone who is passionate for finance and understands core things like valuation, financial statements etc. (even if you come from a non finance/econ background). Id note working in IB is different to working somewhere like a central bank i.e. Bank of England where id imagine they are probably more concerned with someone who really understands macro economics.
If you wanted to pursue an analytical role where you are building proprietary models, or trying to use quantitative methods for correlating different asset classes then youll really need a solid mathematical background (tbh for those roles i actually think maths/physics/cs/engineering might be better)