Engineered scale for a challenger bank, enablin lending to grow from £1.8bn to £4.0bn+, deposits to £4.5bn, and profits to more than double.
Context & Challenge
A UK challenger bank, divested from a European parent, needed to transform into a digital challenger bank, elevating customer satisfaction through a human-digital experience. With investor ambition to expand a £1.8bn lending book toward £9bn, the Bank had to modernise legacy systems, streamline operations, and evolve its proposition to compete effectively in the UK market.
Our Role & Approach
Rapid scale: Lending grew from £1.8bn to £4.0bn+ (+120%); deposits reached £4.5bn (+80%), enabled by a cloud-first architecture that reduced reliance on legacy core
Profitability doubled: Profit before tax more than doubled from ~£30m to £66.6m, with a sustainable RoTE of 12.9%
Speed to market: Digital lending platform reduced time to drawdown from months to days; new treasury platform enhanced resilience and efficiency
Customer platforms delivered: New digital banking platforms for business and personal customers launched successfully
Cost efficiency: Restructured sourcing and contracts unlocked £30m+ in efficiency benefits
Regulatory resilience: Strengthened PRA/FCA/EBA-aligned compliance and embedded agile practices as "business as usual"
Key Outcomes Enabled
Scale foundation – Cloud-first architecture and new operating model reduced reliance on legacy core, underpinning lending growth from £1.8bn → £4.0bn+ (+120%) and deposits from £2.5bn → £4.5bn (+80%).
Profitability & returns – Profit before tax more than doubled from ~£30m → £66.6m, with sustainable RoTE of 12.9%.
Customer experience uplift – New platforms blended trusted relationship management with digital-first journeys across business and personal banking.
Operational excellence – Digital lending platform cut drawdown times from months to days; new treasury platform strengthened resilience and efficiency.
Vendor & cost optimisation – Restructured sourcing and contracts, unlocking £30m+ efficiency benefits across people, process, and technology.
Regulatory & cultural resilience – Strengthened PRA/FCA/EBA-aligned compliance and embedded agile practices, making transformation “business as usual.”
Result: The bank scaled fast growing lending, deposits, and profitability while building resilience and speed to market positioning it as a credible mid-tier competitor in UK financial services.
