Edinburgh private bank Hampden & Co cashes in on Adam & Co changes as deposits jump

Hampden & Co, the Edinburgh-based private bank, has reported strong full-year results and pointed to “high levels of interest from prospective clients” following the recent sale of fellow capital outfit Adam & Co.

Total income for the year to the end of December rose by 18 per cent to £10.2 million, from £8.7m in 2019, with deposits up 22 per cent to £501.2m, from £409.4m. Loans and advances jumped 60 per cent to £326.3m, compared with £203.8m a year earlier.

Hampden & Co was founded in 2010, opening for business in 2015 when it became the first new UK private bank launch in quarter of a century. It also has offices in London.

Chief executive Graeme Hartop said: “Our focus on delivering a personalised banking service helped our existing clients to navigate the impact of the pandemic and we attracted many new clients by being accessible, particularly as some mainstream banks declined new accounts and directed clients online or to call centres.

Graeme Hartop is the chief executive of Edinburgh and London-based private bank Hampden & Co. Picture: Stewart Attwood

“So far in 2021, we have received high levels of interest from prospective clients following the announcement of changes at Adam & Co. Great credit is due to our team following a challenging year for everyone.”

The comments come just a fortnight after it emerged that Canaccord Genuity Group was buying wealth manager Adam & Co from Royal Bank of Scotland for £54 million as the sector undergoes further consolidation.

News of the sale followed speculation regarding a potential disposal as RBS parent NatWest Group focuses on its core UK banking operations.

Canaccord Genuity, which is undertaking the deal through its wealth management business in the UK, said the acquisition marked a “unique opportunity” for it to enter the Scottish market with a “deeply established franchise and a strong brand”. Adam & Co’s Edinburgh-based investment management business has client assets amounting to some £1.7 billion.

Hampden & Co pointed to other financial highlights during 2020, including raising an additional £10m from shareholders to support continued balance sheet growth, ongoing costs and regulatory requirements.

The bank continued to hire during the year to support new business from clients, with appointments to the banking, commercial and administrative teams in Edinburgh and London.

Key appointments were also made to the board – former Virgin Money chief financial officer Finlay Williamson joined as chairman of the audit committee, Scottish Friendly and Fidelity Life Insurance chairman David Huntley joined as chair of the risk committee, while former senior Goldman Sachs executive Caroline Taylor joined as chair of the remuneration committee.

Hartop added: “We are seeing high demand for our unique approach to private banking. As a consequence, we are keen to recruit talent with the capability to develop as our business continues its strong growth trajectory.”

The bank also launched new services for clients during the year including multi-part lending, an interest-only retirement mortgage and loans against pension investments. More recently, it has rolled out a self-build mortgage for clients seeking to build their own home.

Chairman Simon Miller said: “The bank responded well to the Covid-19 pandemic and the results demonstrate that the business performed with agility and resilience.”

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