The Bank of London has announced £42 million in new funding just days after the former head of its Belfast operation was named as new chief executive.
Former AIB and Ulster Bank executive Stephen Bell was last week confirmed as the successor to the start-up clearing bank’s founder Anthony Watson.
Mr Bell had headed up the Belfast operation, which employs around 50 people at the Soloist building next to the Waterfront.
The hub was first announced in June 2022, when The Bank of London said it would create 232 jobs in the city by 2026, with support from Invest NI for 130 of the roles.
Sunday’s announcement of £42m in fresh funding followed weekend reports of a winding-up petition filed by HMRC against the bank’s holding company, The Bank of London Group Holdings.
Such petitions are usually filed when a company is late settling a tax bill.
In a statement, the Bank of London said its holding company “is fully up to date with all tax payments to HMRC”.
It blamed the petition on “a simple administrative handling delay due to an internal miscommunication, which has been resolved”.
The fast growth of the start-up has however resulted in significant up-front costs incurred by the company.
The fledgling bank reported a pre-tax loss of £41.8m in 2022.
The Financial Times has reported that a July presentation to potential investors outlined £27m in losses for 2024.
The FT said the same presentation told potential investors of an “immediate” need to raise £18.5m of cash for regulatory capital by August.
Bank of London said it expects the to become profitable by August 2025.
The company’s high profile board includes former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson and Harvey Schwartz, chief executive of The Carlyle Group.
The company said its founder Anthony Watson will remain on as a senior advisor and non-executive director.
