Redwood Bank has opened for business, offering secured SME mortgages for business owners and investors, and a business deposit account.
Redwood said it is the first business bank with 100% cloud-based infrastructure.
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Its business account is a 35-day business savings account offering 0.45% AER variable.
The bank is wholly-owned by Redwood Financial Partners, a company controlled by Jonathan and David Rowland, in which Warrington Borough Council has a 33% stake.
As part of this, the council’s executive board has approved an investment of £30m in Redwood as part of the bank’s capital funding.
Redwood is headquartered in Letchworth, with its main focus initially in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire as well as in Warrington, where it has also opened a Warrington & North West regional office to support SME growth in the town and region.
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By GlobalDataGary Wilkinson, co-founder and chief executive of Redwood Bank, said: “We are delighted to be open for business so soon following the issuing of our initial banking licence. We aim to offer a real alternative for small and medium sized organisations, providing them with simple transparent loans and savings accounts, great service and a promise that our money is being invested into British businesses and our local communities.
“As many traditional banks are hampered by poor lending practices from their past and their legacy systems, we are perfectly positioned to help British SMEs take advantage of property opportunities by offering a highly-tailored service for clients that is built around our very experienced regional managers.”
Wilkinson will oversee the day-to-day running of the bank, and will be supported by a management team. The Board includes Jonathan Rowland, co-founder and non-executive director of Redwood Bank, as well as David Buckley, who became chairman in June this year. Buckley has held various senior roles in financial services companies including Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley Bank International and Goldman Sachs and is currently Independent non-executive director and chair of the audit committee for CIBC World Markets.
