UK challenger bank reaches £250m lending milestone
A Challenger Bank is celebrating reaching a “momentous milestone” having now lent over £250m to its customers in just less than three years.
Redwood Bank has continued to lend money over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping out a number of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The Bank has loaned nearly £100m since the start of the year, around £60m of which has been since lockdown began on March 23.
Having launched at the end of August 2017, the Bank has reached the landmark figure of £250m, just weeks before it celebrates its third birthday.
Gary Wilkinson, CEO and Co-Founder of Redwood Bank, said: “We’re completely committed to, wherever possible, helping businesses grow, refinance and diversify, particularly as many are now having to deal with the consequences of COVID-19, and our figures speak for themselves. Reaching this momentous milestone in just under three years shows that we have had, and still have, a strong appetite to lend.”
Redwood Bank was famously the first UK Challenger Business Bank to be completely ‘born in the cloud’ and when lockdown was announced, its robust systems meant all its staff could work from home, seamlessly.
Gary commented: “Being such a dynamic and flexible bank meant we could easily adapt our ways of working throughout the lockdown and it’s clearly worked, as customers are still putting their trust and faith into us. As lockdown measures continue to ease, now is the time for SMEs to start getting back on their feet, and we’re here, ready and waiting to support them.”
As well as the lending milestone, Redwood Bank is also applauding the fact that its business customers have also chosen to save around £350m with them since it opened.
No employee was furloughed during lockdown, as each and every member of the team was needed to deal with strong customer demand.
Redwood have continued to hire, with ten new employees having started during the Covid period, one due to start shortly and fourteen new roles currently being recruited.
Bank of England Base Rate reductions in March were immediately passed on in full to the Bank’s lending customers and Redwood continued to offer competitive deposit products, such as its current 95-day business savings notice account at a rate of 0.60%.
Redwood has, and always will be, an ambitious business bank, which was developed to offer a real alternative for SMEs looking to make sure their properties and cash work harder for them.
It provides individually assessed mortgages for business owners and professional landlords, as well as a range of Best Buy savings accounts, which are offered to businesses, charities, clubs and associations.
