Metro Bank marches on northwards

CHALLENGER lender Metro Bank has already hired local business managers and commercial lenders ahead of its continued expansion into the North of England.

Metro Bank has four branches or stores as it prefers in the North so far, in Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds, with Chester next on its list. The lender is focussing on out-oftown locations with access to large population centres and a high volume of small businesses.

Chief executive Dan Frumkin told City analysts: “We’ll continue to expand in the regions. We already have local business managers, local directors, and regional commercial lenders in the north of England right now, before the stores.”

When it opens, Chester will be its first new branch since Leicester in February 2022, which took it up to 79. It has since cut that back to 76, by closing its stores in Earl’s Court, Milton Keynes and Windsor.

At its annual results earlier this month, Frumkin said he was confident that Metro Bank had put its five years of woe behind it, after strengthening its balance sheet in the fourth quarter.

The lender’s misery started in 2019. Last year, City regulators blocked its plans to cut its capital requirements to boost profitability. That upended its plans to refinance £350million of debts, forcing it into a £925million balance sheet restructuring and refinancing last October.

Pledging to cut £50million of costs and 1,000 jobs by mid-april, Frumkin has since committed to cutting an extra £30million of costs, which will see further job cuts.