Atom bank raises £149m in latest fundraising round

07 March 2018


Atom bank raises £149m in latest fundraising round

Durham-based Atom bank has raised £149m in a round led by cornerstone investors BBVA and Toscafund.

As part of this fundraising round BBVA will invest a further £85.4m in the 5-star rated (Trustpilot)bank, increasing its ownership to around 39% subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.Toscafund will invest £54.4m and is also increasing its stake in the bank. A number of Atom’s other existing shareholders are also supporting this raise.

The injection of capital will secure Atom’s continued rapid growth as a lender and fund further investment in technology and business capabilities. To date Atom has taken £1.3bn of deposits and loaned over £1.2bn to SME businesses and homeowners in the UK.

Bridget Rosewell, Atom bank’s Chair said: “Atom is a rapidly growing, ambitious and vibrant business that is founded on the unique fit of our shareholders, our team and our partners. I am delighted that our investors have decided to back the bank with such a significant injection of capital to fuel our mission to change banking permanently for the better.”

Atom bank’s CEO, Mark Mullen said: “We are very proud of what we have achieved in the Atom journey to date and we are excited about our plans for the future. The further significant injection of capital secures the bank’s place as a disruptive force in the mainstream of UK banking. We will continue to invest in growth, in our technology and in our products as we continue to push ahead with the support of our investors.”

Since its creation in April 2014, Atom has:

  • Raised almost £400m of equity capital through the support of private and institutional investors, including BBVA, Woodford Investment Management and Toscafund Asset Management

  • Built a highly motivated and experienced team of around 300 permanent employees

  • Been ranked 8th in KPMG’s ‘Global 2017 Fintech 100’ listing, and uniquely in the EU have been top10 in this listing for the last three years.

  • Ranked 1st in Tech World’s Digital Challengers list

  • Ranked 14th in LinkedIn’s ‘Top 25 Startups’

  • Voted the UK’s most recommended bank

  • Industry leading NPS scores in relation to Savings Product of 75% (Global score of 72%)

  • Trustpilot score of 5/5

  • 97% of customers said they would recommend us on Reevoo

  • Established a global network of partners and suppliers

  • Launched 1, 2, 3 and 5 Year market-leading Fixed Saver accounts - Atom has nearly £1.3bn in deposits so far

  • Launched Digital Mortgages by Atom, offering secured lending to SMEs and residential mortgage products - Atom has loaned around £1.2bn to date

  • will.i.am joined Atom bank as a Strategic Board Advisor, giving an external perspective on culture, community and technology

  • Partnered with Deposit Solutions and passported its deposit taking licence to Germany to access German retail savings market to diversify funding options and increase deposits

  • Announced a four year STEM partnership with the Prince’s Trust in North East England

  • Signed up to the Women in Finance Charter in 2016 and the Tech Talent Charter in 2017

    ENDS

Note to Editors

After securing its banking license in June 2015, Atom bank launched operations in April 2016, offering market-leading Fixed Saver accounts and secured business lending for small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’). From the start, Atom set out to build a customer- driven bank,designed to meet their new needs and optimised for mobile technologies.

Atom bank launched its first mobile mortgage product a year ago and has recently announced it has taken £1.3bn of deposits and has now lent £1.2bn to small businesses and homeowners.

The Atom executive team are highly experienced, having built and run some of the most well respected banks in the UK. CEO Mark Mullen has 25 years’ experience in the sector and was previously CEO at the multi- award winning telephone and internet bank first direct. The team are supported by a strong nonexec board, which includes newly appointed Chair, Bridget Rosewell. Bridget has also been the chair of Atom’s audit committee since 2014. She has an economics background and is also Chairman of the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency and on the board of Network Rail as well as a Commissioner with the National Infrastructure Commission.

Atom is determined to set the agenda for what the future of banking looks like, redefining the relationship customers have with their money, providing a unique, branch-free, banking experience, built around the best interests of customers. They want customers to be more engaged with their finances, giving them the ability to manage their own money just by using the Atom app. A dedicated 24/7 support team will be on hand to help with any customer queries through phone, chat, email and social media, working out of their Durham HQ.