Harrods Bank sold

START-UP lender Tandem has bought Harrods Bank in a move that brings it closer to launching a savings account.

The deal will hand the online-only bank £80m of additional capital and, if it wins regulatory backing, enable it to regain its banking licence. The move, for an undisclosed sum, is a bright spot amid a turbulent year for the firm which saw it lose its banking licence after the Chinese owners of House Of Fraser – Sanpower Group – pulled £29m of funding.

Customers of Londonbased Tandem, which was founded in 2014, access their accounts through an app.