Cambridge & Counties Bank

Cambridge & Counties Bank is a bank based and operating in the United Kingdom specialising in property finance and asset finance loans, and savings accounts for small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

Cambridge & Counties Bank Ltd.
Bank
FoundedJune 2012 (2012-06) in Cambridge, UK
HeadquartersCharnwood Court, 5B New Walk,
Leicester
,
Leicestershire
Area served
UK
Key people
Mike Kirsopp (C.E.O)
ProductsProperty Finance, Asset Finance, Business Savings
Websiteccbank.co.uk

Cambridge & Counties Bank launched in June 2012[1] and has a unique ownership structure,[2] being owned 50% by Trinity Hall, a Cambridge University college, and 50% by Cambridgeshire Local Government Pension Scheme.[3]

Cambridge & Counties Bank is registered under Company Registration No: 07972522.[4] The bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority and can be found under the Financial Services Register No: 579415.[4]


Services

Cambridge & Counties Bank specialise in niche property finance for experienced property investors. The property finance product range includes commercial investments, residential investments, bridging finance, secured pension lending and refurbishment loans.

The asset finance product range includes hire purchase and finance lease, and the bank is a member of the Finance and Leasing Association.

The bank operates a more traditional manual underwriting process where individual underwriters make decisions on each lending application, essentially combining a modern first class personal service with traditional values.

The savings products typically include notice savings accounts and fixed rate bonds and are available to a varied range of organisations such as businesses, charities, clubs & associations and trusts.

Awards
YearAwardResult
2015Leicester Mercury Women in Business Rising Star AwardWinner (Rachel Curtis-Bowen)
2015Business Moneyfacts Awards – Best Business Variable Rate Deposit Account ProviderHighly Commended
2015Investors in the Environment – Green Award 2015-16Winner
2015Investors in the Environment – Best Green Champion 2015-16Winner
2015Investors in the Environment – Great Green Star Award 2015-16Winner
2016East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Business Awards - Social Impact AwardFinalist
2016East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Business Awards - Outstanding Growth Performance AwardFinalist
2016Leasing World Awards – New Challenger of the YearWinner
2016Leicestershire Cares – Team of the Year AwardWinner
2016Investors in the Environment – Green Award 2016-17Winner
2016Investors in the Environment – Best Green Champion 2016-17Winner
2016Green Apple Awards – National Bronze Award for Banking, Finance & InsuranceWinner - Bronze
2017Business Moneyfacts Awards - Best Business Variable Rate Deposit Account ProviderWinner
2017Business Moneyfacts Awards - Best Business Fixed Account ProviderCommended
2017Business Moneyfacts Awards – Best Service from a Commercial Service ProviderFinalist
2017East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Business Awards – Excellence in Customer ServiceWinner

See https://ccbank.co.uk/about-us/news-media/awards-sponsorship/ for full list of awards.

History

At launch, Cambridge & Counties Bank offered secured loans to SMEs for business mortgages and commercial property investment. Five months after launch, residential property investment lending was added to the portfolio.

On its first anniversary, the bank announced that it had made loans totalling £40m[5] and had signed up its 1,000th new customer. Shortly afterwards the bank confirmed it had achieved break even on a monthly trading basis.[6] By the end of 2013 the business bank had lent more than £113m, with more than 250 loans.[7]

In October 2014, Mike Kirsopp was appointed as Chief Executive Officer for the bank,[8] which was followed by the opening of a Bristol-based regional office covering the South West and Wales regions of the UK.[9] A Sheffield-based regional office was also opened in 2014 covering the North and Scotland regions.[10]

In July 2015, Rachel Curtis-Bowen, Executive Director Customer Experience was appointed to the board and was the first female member. In September 2016 she was promoted to the role of Chief Customer Officer.[11] Also in July 2015, Will German joined the Board of the bank as the Chief Risk Officer. In March 2015, Cambridge & Counties Bank announced pre-tax profits of £2.5m for the 2014 calendar year after a £99k loss in the calendar year 2013. They also announced the staff levels were at 65 with a customer satisfaction rate of 99% at the end of 2014.[12]

Cambridge & Counties Bank entered the asset finance market in May 2015, with three product offerings including hire purchase, finance lease and chattel mortgage. The official launch was in 2016, which also saw the asset finance division win the New Challenger of the Year award at the Leasing World Awards.[13]

In March 2016, the bank announced its 2015 results reporting a £10.2 pre-tax profit. Staff numbers increased by 45% from 65 in 2014 to 94 in 2015 and the 99% customer satisfaction rating was maintained.[14] The Birmingham-based regional office opened in March 2016[15] and also in that year, Simon Moore took over the role of Chairman from Paul ffolkes Davis who had conducted the role since the inception of the bank in 2012.[16] The annual results for the 2016 calendar year were published in March 2017 at which the bank announced a 77% increase in their year on year pre-tax profits, with their 2016 profits at £18.1m. Along with this staff numbers rose to 121 and customer satisfaction was maintained at 99% for the third year running, with 99% of new customers happy to recommend the bank.[17]

In July 2017, Andrea Hodgson was appointed to the Board as Chief Financial Officer. Simon Lindley, who joined the bank in 2012 as a Business Development Manager, moved from his position as Commercial Director to Chief Development Officer completing the suite of five executives on the board.

Affiliations and sponsorships
  • ProCon Regeneration Project of the Year 2016 Sponsors
  • Leicestershire Women in Business Mentoring Scheme Supporters
  • Niche Business Awards 2017 Headline Sponsors
  • Leicester Comedy Festival 2015, 2016 and 2017 Sponsors
  • The Curve Business Sponsors
  • Network LE Networking Organisation

See the awards page for more details.

References
  1. "Cambridge University launches bank". BBC News.
  2. "Our Story - Cambridge & Counties Bank".
  3. https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/CMSWebsite/Apps/News/Details.aspx?ref=590
  4. Financial Services Register
  5. "That's how you support business: Cambridge & Counties bank lends £40m to small firms in its first year".
  6. "Cambridge & Counties Bank releases £100M to SMEs & becomes profitable in first year". 4 September 2013.
  7. Ltd, Insider Media. "Cambridge & Counties beats lending targets".
  8. Ltd, Insider Media. "New chief executive unveiled at Cambridge & Counties".
  9. "Further expansion at Cambridge & Counties Bank's Bristol office in first year of business - Bristol Business News". www.bristol-business.net.
  10. "Cambridge & Counties expands lending team". bridgingandcommercial.co.uk.
  11. "Cambridge & Counties Bank Limited: CEO and Executives - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com.
  12. "Cambridge & Counties Bank reaches lending milestone - Business Weekly - Technology News - Business news - Cambridge and the East of England". www.businessweekly.co.uk.
  13. "A great night of Awards and Rewards- LeasingWorld - News". www.leasingworld.co.uk.
  14. "Cambridge & Counties Bank reports record year end growth - East Midlands Business News". eastmidlandsbusinessnews.co.uk.
  15. Brown, Graeme (18 December 2015). "Business bank Cambridge & Counties opens in Birmingham".
  16. "Challenger bank names new chairman". www.bridgingandcommercial.co.uk.
  17. Kirton, Hayley (5 March 2017). "Cambridge & Counties Bank announces a record year for 2016".
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