- New seven-day-a-week, 362-days-a-year stores to open in Sheffield and Bradford
- Creates 50 new jobs in the region
- First two stores to launch in Yorkshire as the bank’s expansion programme continues
Metro Bank, the revolution in British banking, is set to open two brand-new stores in Bradford and Sheffield, creating around 50 new jobs in the county. The stores will combine face-to-face banking with state-of-the-art technology, providing residents and businesses with a customer-focused and convenient banking experience.
The bank’s first stores in Yorkshire, set to open next year, will offer business, personal and private banking services to the local community, from early in the morning until late at night, seven-days-a-week. Metro Bank is known for its exceptional customer service and earlier in the month achieved the top spot in the CMA’s Service Quality Survey. Customers will be able to visit the stores, with no appointment needed, and open a personal or business account on-the-spot, leaving with their debit card in hand, along with internet and mobile banking set-up.
This expansion into Yorkshire is part of Metro Bank’s efforts to inject much needed competition into the small business banking market following the £120 million funding it was awarded from the Capability & Innovation Fund. The revolutionary bank is committed to building stores in the North of England, with Manchester and Liverpool set to open in December this year.
Metro Bank is the fastest-growing challenger bank for business current accounts in the UK, supporting tens of thousands of SMEs. Local professionals will benefit from Local Business Managers ready to help them run and grow their businesses, as well as having free access to the Forum of Private Business’ wealth of bespoke resources and free use of the store’s meeting space. The stores will become a hub for their local communities, hosting a range of business events and charity fundraisers for local residents throughout the year.
Craig Donaldson, Chief Executive Officer at Metro Bank says: “Bringing the banking revolution to Yorkshire is a real milestone for Metro Bank. We’re thrilled to be arriving in these two cities next year.”
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, adds: “It’s great to see Metro Bank choose Bradford as one of its first locations in the region. The city is home to so many successful SMEs and Metro Bank have obviously recognised this with their new investment.”
Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Cabinet Member for Business and Investment at Sheffield City Council, said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Metro Bank to Sheffield. These are exciting times for Sheffield with international businesses confirmed for our Heart Of The City II development which mixes the very best retail, residential and lifestyle opportunities to create a city centre unlike any other in the UK. Metro Bank fit that bill perfectly – vibrant, modern and well regarded in the sector.
“We have ambitious plans for Fargate and the surrounding area and are putting together a business case for a significant revamp of the street. With businesses like Metro Bank on board, the message is clear – we are going places.”
The Sheffield store will be located at 58-64 Fargate, Sheffield, S1 2HE, and Bradford at Unit 6 & 8 The Exchange, Market Street, Bradford, BD1 1EG. Both stores will have thousands of safe deposit boxes for customers to store their valuables, as well as free coin counting facilities for children and adults alike.
The stores will also deliver Metro Bank’s free financial education programme, Money Zone, to schools and youth groups in the area. The National Curriculum approved training, which is provided through classroom and store-based sessions, has already supported more than 100,000 children across the UK with their financial literacy.
All stores are open at the most convenient time for local people from 8am to 8pm Monday to Fridays, 8am to 6pm on Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sundays and bank holidays, 362 days a year.