Anthony Thomson, co-founder of Metro Bank and Atom Bank, is launching a new venture aimed exclusively at the global super-rich.
Family Offices Bank (FOB) will target ultra-high-net-worth individuals with at least $30 million in investable assets and family offices managing $100 million or more.
The bank, to be domiciled in Jersey, plans to sign up 2,000 of the world’s wealthiest clients within five years, including more than 500 family offices, and reach a $10 billion balance sheet by 2030. Thomson’s investor document projects FOB breaking even in 2028 and generating more than $100 million in annual profit thereafter.
Initial fundraising will begin in September, with a $5 million first tranche followed by a further $95 million over subsequent months. First-round investors will receive a 25% discount on the next two capital-raisings. FOB’s current valuation is $20 million.
Thomson says wealthy clients are poorly served by incumbent private banks, which focus on selling investment products and can be slow to respond. He cited a case where a family office, pledging $120 million in listed assets, waited six weeks for a $30 million loan approval — too late to meet the need.
The bank will initially take term deposits and offer unsecured loans and mortgages, before expanding into more complex products. It is applying for a licence from the Jersey Financial Services Commission, expected in December, and plans a second office in Singapore to tap Asia’s fast-growing population of ultra-wealthy individuals.
FOB will be co-founded with Paul Pester, former TSB chief, and Stuart Grimshaw, ex-CEO of Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank, who is also chairman of the Roche family office in Australia. Thomson wants the bank to be privately owned by its wealthy clients under an “evergreen” shareholder structure.
Catering to ultra-wealthy clients is a competitive market in the UK, with rivals including Coutts, C Hoare & Co, SG Kleinwort Hambros, and the private banking arms of HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds. However, Thomson believes FOB can differentiate itself through a blend of relationship managers and cutting-edge technology, including generative AI, free from legacy systems.
Global wealth among ultra-high-net-worth individuals is projected to rise from $49 trillion in 2023 to $68 trillion by 2030, with the number of such individuals increasing to 588,000. Family offices are also expanding rapidly, with more than 9,000 now in operation worldwide.
Thomson, 71, left Metro Bank in 2013. Since then, he co-founded Atom Bank in 2014 and Australian digital bank 86400, which was sold to National Australia Bank for A$440 million in 2021.
