Atom Bank picks advisers to steer £100m fundraising

Atom Bank, the app-based lender, has picked advisers to safe an additional £100m in capital in what is predicted to be its closing fundraising earlier than an try to listing its shares publicly.

Sky News understands the Durham-based firm is working with bankers at Jefferies on a share sale that can happen within the coming months.

One investor who has been approached about collaborating within the capital-raising mentioned this weekend that Atom Bank may search as a lot as £150m.

The plans comply with a £30m money name final November which was funded by present traders, BBVA, Toscafund and Infinity Investment Partners.

Sky News revealed in March that Atom Bank had kicked off a seek for a brand new chair as a part of preparations for a long-awaited flotation.

Spencer Stuart, the headhunting agency, is overseeing the seek for a successor to Bridget Rosewell, who has chaired the lender since 2018.

The appointment of a brand new chair will come quickly after Atom additionally changed its finance chief, with Andrew Marshall changing David McCarthy.

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Mark Mullen, the financial institution’s chief government, mentioned in November that Atom had surpassed £4.5bn in retail deposits “having made waves with the pricing of our fixed and instant savers, opening up a void between banks such as Atom that pay a fair return on savings and those that are simply unresponsive to the market”.

Last yr, talks a couple of £700m merger involving a car arrange by Donald Trump’s former commerce secretary fell aside.

Atom had been in talks with a particular goal acquisition firm (SPAC) arrange by Wilbur Ross, the billionaire Wall Street financier.

Established in 2014, Atom Bank has raised roughly £500m in fairness from traders together with BBVA, Toscafund and the now-dissolved Woodford Investment Management.

In 2021, it attracted headlines by turning into one of many first substantial employers to change to a four-day week.

It mentioned the transfer, which included a discount in working hours from 37 to 34 with no impression on salaries, was designed to assist staff’ psychological and bodily wellbeing, in addition to to spice up productiveness.

Atom Bank didn’t reply to a request for remark.