Specialist lender Cambridge & Counties Bank has opened a new office in central Manchester as the bank looks to better service regional clients and commercial finance brokers.
The move means the bank now has five offices across the UK, including its recently opened asset finance-focused Reading hub.
The new office in Manchester will serve as a base for nine members of staff, headed up by Scott Barber, Regional Director and Head of Trading and Investment (T&I) deals for the North. T&I transactions are funding deals worth between £500k to £3.5 million.
Cambridge & Counties Bank has seen funding demand for the North West region increase by around 8% year-on-year to the end of January this year, with deals spread right across the region, including in Bolton, Liverpool, Manchester, Salford and Wigan, among others.
Additional members of the team based in the new Manchester office include a number of Business Development Managers and Regional Managers.
Across the whole UK, Cambridge & Counties Bank registered its highest ever level of gross new lending in FY2023 at £328 million, up 6% year-on-year. Overall, total customer loan balances increased 5% to £1.106 billion while customer deposits rose to £1.155 billion, also up 5%.
Scott Barber, Regional Director at Cambridge & Counties Bank, said:
“We have invested in the office and new colleagues in this location as a sign of our long-term commitment and our desire to support SME businesses in the region. The North West continues to show strong resilience and economic development, and we think we are well positioned to serve SMEs and property professionals with our dedicated lending solutions.
“We are also looking to support local communities, through volunteering and charity commitments, remaining true to the values of the bank which we demonstrate in our Leicester head office and across our other office locations.”