By Roger Baird on Friday 28 June 2019
The first Growth Finance Awards have shortlisted 45 firms across 15 different categories.
OakNorth, Tandem Bank, Redwood Bank and Wyelands Bank have been shortlisted as the best challenger banks in the inaugural Growth Finance Awards.
The winner will be unveiled in front of 400 guests at a black-tie dinner hosted by TV presenter Claudia Winkleman at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London on 11 September.
The firm behind the awards, financial consultants Intelligent Partnership, said the best challenger bank of the year “will be presented to the bank providing service that has delivered a clear and demonstrable business impact over the past 12 months.”
Business bank OakNorth, founded four years ago, posted its second annual profit of £33.9m in March, more than double the £10.6m it reported in 2018, boosted by a jump in small business lending. The lender, a rare profitable fintech, plans to launch in the US later this year.
Industrial lending
Tandem Bank, has amassed over 600,000 customers, since obtaining its banking licence last January, launched a suite of financial products and now plans to launch overseas.
Letchworth-based business lender Redwood Bank was founded in 2017, by bankers Jonathan Rowland and Gary Wilkinson, and offers a range of loans and savings accounts.
Wyelands Bank, established in 2016 by steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta, offers business and personal banking. However, the lender is primarily focused on lending to industrial firms.
Tandem’s co-founder and chief executive Ricky Knox (pictured) said: “To be in the running for best challenger bank is a great honour as we celebrate our huge growth in everything from customer numbers to products and of course the fantastic Tandem team.”
‘Huge achievement’
In total, the Growth Finance Awards has 45 finalists across 15 categories, including specialist lender of the year, best use of technology and innovative product of the year.
Intelligent Partnership managing director Guy Tolhurst said: “To reach the finalist stage among such a stand-out set of entrants is a huge achievement.”
Finalists now go through to a second round of judging by a panel of 28 independent and expert judges drawn from across the finance industry.
