How the Geek Way helped Allica Bank become Britain's fastest-growing company

CEO Richard Davies on the story behind Allica, why small and medium-sized businesses need a better bank and the outlook for the UK economy

Allica Bank has been Britain's fastest-growing company over the past few years, according to a collection of different reports that track this. This growth has been driven by Richard Davies, the chief executive. He arrived at Allica in 2020 from Revolut to what was, effectively, a blank sheet of paper – the bank had a licence and funding, but its founder had departed and it made paid out only £5m in loans.

Since then, Allica has been transformed into a thriving digital bank for small and medium-sized businesses. At the heart of this transformation has been an approach inspired by what Davies has learned from his varied career and a book, The Geek Way, that provides a playbook for modern businesses.

In this episode of the Business Leader Podcast, Graham Ruddick speaks to Davies about the story behind Allica, why small and medium-sized businesses need a better bank and the outlook for the UK economy.

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Author

Graham Ruddick

Date

06 January 2026