A group of the City’s highest-profile investors, including Neil Woodford and Jon Moulton, today injected £25 milion into a new digital banking venture.
Atom plans to launch next year and will join a string of challenger banks hoping to lure retail and business customers from mainstream lenders like HSBC and Lloyds.
The bank will be online only and is the brainchild of former Metro Bank chairman Anthony Thompson and First Direct boss Mark Mullen. Other new investors include Jim O’Neill — the economist best known for coining the term “Brics” — and Sir Peter Vardy.
“We have a very talented group of people working hard to make Atom the first real alternative to a market dominated by the UK’s high street banks,” chief executive Mullen said.
“We continue to make progress through the necessarily testing regulatory approval process and are well on with building the products, services and technology that will make Atom stand out.”
Atom currently employs 70 people in Durham but is planning to expand ahead of its launch.
