OakNorth Bank

OakNorth Bank is a UK bank for scaling businesses (typically with between £1m–£100m in turnover) that provides loans and both business and personal savings accounts. The bank, which gained regulatory approval in early 2015,[3] was founded by entrepreneurs Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, who had previously founded Copal Amba.[4][5] The bank focuses on providing loans of £0.5m–£25m as well as savings accounts.

OakNorth Bank plc.[1]
TypePrivate company
IndustryBanking
Founded2015 (2015)[2]
London, England
FoundersRishi Khosla
Joel Perlman
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Key people
  • Cyrus Ardalan (Chairman)[1]
    Rishi Khosla (CEO)
    Joel Perlman (Co-founder and Senior Managing Director)
    Rajesh Gupta (CFO)
    Timo Boldt (Non-Executive Director)
    Ted Berk (Non-Executive Director)
    Robert Burgess (Non-Executive Director)
    Carolyn Schuetz (Non-Executive Director)
Revenue209,631,743 euro (2021) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
300+ (2023)
Websiteoaknorth.co.uk

History
Logo until 2023

OakNorth Bank secured a full banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in March 2015, and launched offering flexible debt financing and a range of savings accounts six months later in September 2015.[6][7]

The Board is chaired by Cyrus Ardalan, former vice-chairman of public policy and government relations at Barclays Bank, and includes Harvard Business School faculty member and an ex-managing director of Bain Capital[8] Edward “Ted” Berk and Robert Burgess. In February 2021, Rajesh Gupta, formerly CFO at Kensington Mortgages, joined OakNorth Bank as its CFO.[9] OakNorth Bank also appointed Carolyn Schuetz, former Chief Operating Officer for Group Retail Banking at HSBC, and Timo Boldt, co-founder of Gousto, as Non-Executive Directors in July 2021 and August 2022 respectively.[10]

Lord Adair Turner, the former Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (now the Financial Conduct Authority) joined the bank's advisory board in May 2017 after previously holding the role of senior independent advisor on the OakNorth Bank board from 2015.[11][12] He was joined in October 2018 by Martin Stewart, the former Director of Banks, Building Societies & Credit Unions at the Bank of England.[13][14] In January 2020, Philip Hammond, the former UK Chancellor, became the latest member to join OakNorth's advisory board.[15][16][17][18]

In May 2016, OakNorth became the first bank to be fully hosted on the cloud after working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to drive the development forward with the regulator.[19][20][21]

In December 2021, OakNorth completed its first acquisition with a 100% takeover of accountancy cash flow provider, Fluidly.[22] In October 2022, OakNorth Bank acquired a 50% stake in specialist property lenders ASK Partners, to deepen its support for UK housebuilders and property entrepreneurs.[23]

In January 2023, OakNorth, alongside The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and other Fintech firms, wrote to the former British Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Grant Shapps, calling on him to improve small businesses’ access to borrowing. The group warned that failure to do so could further damage the UK’s economic growth prospects.[24]

In March 2023, OakNorth submitted a rescue bid for the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank, being described in The Times as a “white knight”.[25]

In April 2023, Sharon Miles was appointed as the Group Chief Operating Officer.[26]

Operations

OakNorth Bank has offices in London and Manchester as well as regional hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and East Anglia.[27][28][29][30] It also has an India-based front office with customer-facing teams in Bengaluru, Gurugram and Hyderabad.

Loans

Since 2015, OakNorth Bank has lent over £8.5bn to businesses across the UK covering multiple sectors.[31]

OakNorth Bank has provided loans to several household names including: Leon Restaurants, Raymond Blanc’s Brasserie Blanc, and Yotam Ottolenghi’s eponymous restaurant and deli chain.[32][33][34] Outside of restaurant businesses, other high profile names that OakNorth Bank has funded include Deliciously Ella, Z Hotels, Arora Group, Staycity and Inception Group.[35][36][37][38][39]

Savings

OakNorth Bank offers a range of savings accounts for both businesses and personal use, including: fixed term savings accounts, notice accounts and easy access accounts, as well as fixed rate and easy access cash ISAs. OakNorth Bank’s savings accounts can be managed online and via its mobile app.[40]

Awards

In 2020, OakNorth Bank won:

  • MoneyComms Best Internet Savings Provider and was Highly Recommended for Best Internet Account Provider at the Moneyfacts Awards.[41][42]

In 2020, Financial Times also ranked the company at #1 on their list FT 1000: Europe's Fastest Growing Companies 2020.[43]

In 2021, OakNorth Bank won:

  • Credit Team of the Year at the MoneyAge National Credit Awards.[44]
  • Senior Housing Capital Partner at the HealthInvestor Seniors Housing Awards.[45]
  • The ‘Investment Award’ category at The Estates Gazette Tech Awards.[46]

In 2022, OakNorth Bank won:

  • The ‘Professional Services – Finance’ category at TheBusinessDesk's Business Masters Awards in Yorkshire, East Midlands and West Midlands.[47][48][49]
  • The ‘Alternative Finance Provider of the Year’ and ‘Private Equity/Venture Capital Deal of the Year’ awards at the Insider Media Central & East Dealmakers Awards.[50]

In 2023, OakNorth bank won:

  • The ‘Best Savings Provider for Existing Customers’ category at the Savings Champion Awards 2023.[51]

References
  1. "OakNorth Bank Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. "Oaknorth Bank plc". Companies House. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. "OakNorth gets banking licence, appoints Adair Turner to board". Reuters. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  4. "Rishi Khosla: Pioneer of Challenger Banking". Financial Times. 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  5. Dunkley, Emma (2015-02-19). "OakNorth latest challenger bank on course to gain a licence". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  6. Dunkley, Emma (2015-03-09). "Lord Adair Turner joins board of digital challenger bank OakNorth". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  7. "OakNorth gets banking licence, appoints Adair Turner to board". Reuters UK. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  8. "Lender @OakNorth has announced new additions to its board, find out who on @Bandcnews". bridgingandcommercial.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  9. "OakNorth Bank to appoint industry heavyweight, Rajesh Gupta, as CFO, who is to join from Kensington Mortgages". Innovate Finance. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  10. "OakNorth Bank boosts Board with appointment of Carolyn Schuetz as a Non-Executive Director". Fintech Finance News. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  11. "OakNorth boosts Board of Directors - IBS Intelligence". IBS Intelligence. 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  12. "Lord Adair Turner to quit OakNorth board for green energy ventures". Financial Times. 2017-05-15. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  13. Finextra (2018-10-16). "OakNorth appoints form PRA director to board". Finextra Research. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  14. Nicolle, Emily (2018-10-16). "Digital bank Oaknorth hires ex-Bank of England director". Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  15. "Philip Hammond joins advisory board of fintech OakNorth". Financial Times. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  16. "Philip Hammond joins digital lender Oaknorth as adviser". The Times. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  17. "Philip Hammond joins British bank OakNorth as adviser". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  18. "London Fintech OakNorth appoints Philip Hammond to Board". BusinessCloud. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  19. "OakNorth moves core banking backbone to Amazon Web Services cloud". Finextra Research. 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  20. "OakNorth takes UK banking into the cloud". Financial Times. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  21. "OakNorth shifts systems to cloud with AWS - IBS Intelligence". IBS Intelligence. 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  22. "OakNorth acquires smart cashflow firm Fluidly to boost SME support". UK Tech News. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  23. "OakNorth buys 50% stake property lender ASK Partners". UK Tech News. 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  24. Conchie, Charlie (24 January 2023). "Oaknorth and Atom Bank call on Grant Shapps to boost lending to small businesses". City A.M. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  25. Katie Prescott, Oliver Wright, Ben Martin, James Hurley. "Silicon Valley Bank: multibillion-pound bailout for UK tech planned". The Times. Retrieved 2023-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. Woffenden, Claire (18 April 2023). "This Week in Fintech: TFT Bi-Weekly News Roundup 18/04". The Fintech Times. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  27. "New challenger bank OakNorth set to launch with marketing base in Manchester". Prolific North. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  28. "OakNorth Bank: the new lender founded by entrepreneurs (rather than bankers!) which is taking a traditional approach". Healthcare Business. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  29. "OakNorth Bank opens Birmingham office to support businesses in the Midlands". Healthcare Business. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  30. "Challenger bank OakNorth expands regional presence". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  31. "Rishi Khosla: The youth who think". Crast.net. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  32. "Leon secures £19 funding towards expansion". Big Hospitality. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  33. "Brasserie Bar Co secures £20m finance deal to open 24 new sites". The Caterer. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  34. "Meal kits and online shop help Ottolenghi improve margins". The Caterer. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  35. "It's terrifying but we had to do it, say Deliciously Ella founders". The Times. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  36. "Challenger bank Oaknorth loans a further £7.3m to Z Hotels for new London sites in Covent Garden, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road". City AM. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  37. "OakNorth Bank completes £50m loan to Arora Group". Business Leader. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  38. "Staycity takes loan with OakNorth and opens its largest property in Europe". Serviced Apartment News. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  39. "Inception Group secures OakNorth funding for three new bars". Specialist Banking. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  40. "OakNorth mobile banking". Apple. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  41. "MoneyComms Top Performers 2020". MoneyComms. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  42. "Moneyfacts Award Winners 2020". Moneyfacts. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  43. Cundy, Antonia (March 23, 2020). "OakNorth ranks top in FT 1000 list by providing loans for smaller businesses". Financial Times. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  44. "MoneyAge National Credit Awards Winners 2021". Money Age. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  45. "HealthInvestor Winners 2021". Health Investor. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  46. "EG Tech Awards 2021 – Winners". EG. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  47. "Yorkshire Business Masters 2022". The Business Desk. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  48. "West Midlands Business Masters 2022". The Business Desk. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  49. "Winners revealed at East Midlands Business Masters Awards". The Business Desk. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  50. "Insider Central and East of England Dealmakers Award Winners 2022". Insider Media. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  51. Darragh, Dan. "Winners Announced 2023 Savings Champion Awards". Savings Champion. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
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