Metro Bank co-founder launches bank for family offices

Anthony Thomson says the new lender will cater to – and be owned by – family offices and UHNWs

By Livia Giannotti

The entrepreneur behind Metro Bank and Atom Bank is set to establish a new international bank to cater specifically to the needs of family offices and UHNWs.

Anthony Thomson said the move to build a new lender designed specifically to meet the requirements of family offices was informed by conversations with family offices and UHNWs who were dissatisfied with service they received from their existing providers.

‘FOs and UHNWIs are increasingly frustrated with the service they receive from their banks,’ Thomson said. ‘FOs needs have evolved over recent years, yet existing banks have become painfully slow or unable to meet these needs, and they show little interest in serving the requirements of individual family members.’

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Thomson plans to raise £500mn over the next five years to build the new lending business with a £10bn balance sheet, he told the Financial Times. The goal of a fundraising round launched this week is to secure an initial £100mn. The bank will only seek investment from family offices and UHNWs, who will also be its clients.

The new bank has what it describes as a working title of Family Offices Bank and has targeted a launch in late 2026.

It will be managed by an executive team including an ex-CEO of Virgin Money and TSB Bank, Paul Pester; former CFO at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Stuart Grimshaw; and Samantha Bamert, former head of lending at Barclays.

The bank will offer services specifically designed for family offices, by combining ‘recent developments in AI, the availability of modern digital banking technology and high levels of relationship management,’ Thomson said.

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He added: ‘Unshackled from legacy systems and traditional organisational structures, we’re disrupting the status quo by launching a bank that offers flexible solutions that are truly ‘fit for purpose’, and meet [family office] needs, now and in the future.’

While a decision on the location of the bank’s headquarters will be taken later this year, Thomson said he is currently talking to jurisdictions including Jersey, Singapore and the UAE

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