B-North, the Manchester-based firm building an SME lending bank for the UK, has secured £2 million of financing from crowdfunding platforms Crowdcube and Growthfunders, adding to the £4.2 million it has raised in previous rounds.
Founded in 2018 by former Santander and Atom Bank executives, B-North is in the process of applying for its banking licence.
The fund raise comes on the back of a recent contract agreement with Newcastle Strategic Solutions for deposit-taking technology, and previous cloud-based core tech deals with vendors Mambu and nCino.
The firm is planning to open its first branch, or 'Regional Lending Pod', in its home town of Manchester in Q2 2020.
Jonathan Thompson, co-founder & CEO, says B-North’s proposed regional pod model and cloud banking technology will allow it to lend up to ten times faster than other banks.
“The strength of investor response is testament to the B-North offering and the quality and efficiency of lending that we can deliver to help SMEs fulfil their potential,” he says. "It is the B-North team’s intention to serve the UK SME lending market with the utmost efficiency and understanding, delivering lending funds in as quick as ten working days.”