Cambridge and Counties marks decade of business with £1bn milestone

The total number of staff at the bank hit 200 for the first time since launch in 2012.

Cambridge & Counties Bank (C&C), which also reached the £1bn deposit mark over 2021, said it had achieved the £1bn lending milestone by early 2022.

The lender specialises in commercial lending and was set up in the East Midlands. Its headquarters are in Leicester and it also has offices in Sheffield, Bristol, and London and a network of relationship managers  across England, Wales and Scotland.

C&C is running a series of events and initiatives to celebrate its 10th anniversary including a social media-based charity donation initiative, called One Big Birthday Present, which will see 10 charities share £10,000. Customers, finance brokers and other stakeholders have been asked to nominate registered charities as part of the process.

Others initiatives include a competition at the NACFB’s annual conference in June and a series of events aimed at celebrating the bank’s employees, including the introduction of a long-service reward scheme.

The bank saw a 47 per cent rise in gross new lending to an annual record of £323m during 2021. Asset finance lending rose 29 per cent in 2021 while finance for the purchase of classic cars and sports vehicles using hire purchase and lease purchase products increased 33 per cent.

Donald Kerr (pictured), chief executive of Cambridge & Counties Bank, said: “The world was a very different place when the bank was launched 10 years ago. But despite strong market competition and significant macro-economic challenges, we have continued to thrive because we understand the importance of remaining relevant to both our customers and broker partners.

“At the heart of our success are our dedicated employees and our celebrations will reflect the central role they play. And whilst we continue to invest in technology to underpin our service, we will continue to stick to what we know creates value and long-term growth: one-to-one relationships over the entire lifetime of a customer and to remain the bank of choice.”