Technology

Posted on August 21, 2019 by staff

OakNorth opens Manchester base

Technology

FinTech giant OakNorth has opened a new office in Manchester city centre.

The credit platform provides debt finance to SMEs and has raised more than $1 billion investment to date. It was recently announced in second place in BusinessCloud’s London Tech 50 ranking.

OakNorth has occupied a 3,238 sq ft space in Ship Canal House, King Street, which has capacity for 60 people.

In addition to new office space, the bank has hired a dedicated lending team based in Manchester, focused on SME lending deals in the North.

Ben Barbanel, head of debt finance, said: “One of the features about our process that our borrowers greatly appreciate is the ability to discuss their finance needs directly with the credit committee.

“[The new hires] will ensure we can continue offering this experience and build strong relationships with businesses and property developers in the North.”

OakNorth has lent almost £4bn to date.

“We continue to see incredible demand from British businesses keen to pursue their growth ambitions, and because most high-street banks have been retrenching from SME lending, this has only been compounded,” added Barbanel.

“Our co-founder, Rishi Khosla, has always said that the best businesses thrive in times of economic turmoil.”

The bank increased profits by 220 per cent last year to £33.9m.