Bank hopes for hiring drive after reaching milestone

Simon Healy, Aldermore’s head of savings, said the bank’s “no gimmicks” approach seemed to be popular in Yorkshire, where it has 8,000 customers. Aldermore, which launched in 2009, is backed by funds advised by AnaCap Financial Partners and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners. Aldermore specialises in lending to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and UK homeowners. Fifty staff are employed at Aldermore’s invoice finance division which is based in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire.

Mr Healy added: “Our business is growing at an incredibly fast rate. The expectation is that, as the business grows, we will develop the hubs we are operating in, including Yorkshire.

“We will make a positive contribution to the economy when many banks are looking inwards and backwards.

“Our approach is very straightforward and that resonates with folk in Yorkshire.”

In July this year, Aldermore confirmed that it had moved into profit on a monthly basis and ahead of schedule. This was followed by the announcement that it had secured £1bn in savings.

The bank’s total lending to SMEs stands at £623m, and in the first nine months of this year, it had funded £1bn of its clients’ invoices through its expanding invoice finance business. To date, Aldermore has lent nearly 3,000 UK homeowners a total £371m.

Phillip Monks, the company’s chief executive, said: “Aldermore has grown consistently since we established in 2009 and I am delighted that we can now officially announce the latest milestone of 50,000 savings accounts.

“We have a strong capital base – further boosted by a new round of capital investment worth £62m secured in October – and none of the legacy issues which dog the wider banking industry.”

Founded in 2000, Aldermore Invoice Finance was formerly owned by Batley-based Cattles and known as Cattles Invoice Finance.

It was bought by financial services private equity house AnaCap Financial Partners in September 2009 and relaunched as Absolute Invoice Finance.

In November 2009, the business was acquired by Aldermore Bank, a move that increased the size of its funding pool.