The rise and rise of Metro Bank

BLM met with Ian Waters, Managing Director of Business Banking at Metro Bank to discuss how it’s helping companies to fund their growth ambitions.

Can you tell readers how Metro Bank is supporting UK businesses with funding?

At Metro Bank we’re well positioned to provide a range of funding solutions for business, from SMEs looking to expand to corporates wanting to take advantage of a growth opportunity. Whether it’s traditional lending and overdrafts, or invoice and asset finance solutions, our focus on relationship banking means we’re able to get under the skin of a business to better understand the type of funding that would work best for them.

How much are you lending to businesses?

For the second consecutive year we have pledged to ring-fence £1bn net of funds to support businesses across the UK expand, recruit and innovate. Last year we hit this target and I’m pleased to report that we’re well on our way to achieving it once again.

What are the stand-out deals you have been involved in?

The businesses that we work with come from a variety of sectors, with diverse backgrounds. From providing invoice finance facilities to help companies such as IT resource specialist, Cranford Group, take the next step and expand its business across the North of England, to supporting larger organisations like Canary Wharf Group with a £30m development finance loan to build a new private members club; we’re fortunate to be able to work with a broad range of customers.