Preston City Council invests £250,000 in NW Mutual

Preston City Council has invested £250,000 in the ongoing development of NW Mutual, a mutual bank planning a network of 60-plus branches to be owned by, based in and for the people and small and medium-sized businesses of the north west of England.

The financing agreed by the local authority will be used by NW Mutual to pay for existing and future staff and key systems involved in the development of the bank and as a significant contribution to ultimately acquiring a banking licence from the Bank of England.

Dave Burke, chief executive of NW Mutual, said the investment by Preston City Council represented a ‘good use of taxpayers’ money’.

He said: “This invaluable and welcome commitment of £250,000 will help to create a bank that is built by people of the north west, for the people and businesses of the region.

“We will bring branches back to the high street, make lending decisions based on knowledge of the region and its people and businesses, and distribute the profits from the bank to its members. We continue to seek additional investment from other local authorities and the private sector.”

The head office of the bank will be in Preston, at a yet to be confirmed location and scheduled to open in early 2027.

NW Mutual plans to open a network of about 60 branches around the north west, including 16 in Lancashire, 20-plus for Greater Manchester, 12 around Liverpool and Merseyside, another 10 in Cheshire and six for Cumbria.

A ‘bricks, clicks and flicks’ business model will deliver hi-tech and staffed branches, complemented by mobile and online banking, providing retail and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers with a full range of financial products and services.

Coun Matthew Brown, leader of Preston City Council, and Coun Valerie Wise, cabinet member for community wealth building, joined Dave to confirm the investment.

Coun Wise said: “Preston City Council is proud to invest in NW Mutual, a mutual bank to be based in the city but with branches across Lancashire and the wider north west.

"Being owned by its customers and not shareholders, NW Mutual will focus on community well-being, returning profits to members and reinvested in local communities, generating economic growth.”

The investment by the council follows the appointment of key senior personnel by NW Mutual including Iwan Jones as NW Mutual chief financial officer, bringing more than 30 years of experience as a financial services executive at institutions including Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, NatWest, JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank.

Iwan was also chief risk officer at Saffron Building Society, deputy financial director with Principality Building Society and most recently, financial director at Monmouthshire Building Society.

Dave Burke joined NW Mutual Ltd, a co-operative society launched in response to more than 50 per cent of traditional bank branches in the region having closed and the lack of banks based in and serving the people, business and organisations of the north west.

NW Mutual’s target market is about 7.4 million people and 494,395 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the region employing more than 1.65 million people and generating turnover in excess of £239 billion in 2024. * Source – Table 12 in Government publication Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions 2024.

David Milner, chair of NW Mutual Ltd, is an executive and non-executive director of regulated financial services companies, including being chairman of Dudley Building Society and Nottingham Imperial Building Society.

Non-executive director James Moore has more than 25 years of boardroom experience with private and public businesses in sectors including financial services in the UK, China, Europe and Africa while also founding the Community Savings Bank Association.

Having already registered NW Mutual Ltd with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), regulator of financial services firms and markets in the UK, David is preparing a banking licence application to submit to the Bank of England towards the end of 2025.

If the licence is granted the first branch is planned to open in the first quarter of 2027, with a full roll-out proposed to follow later in that year.

About £1m has already been invested to build the systems and financial model of NW Mutual, prepare the banking licence application and analysis of its market.

Potential locations of branches of NW Mutual:

Lancashire: Preston, Accrington, Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, Clitheroe, Chorley, Lancaster, Leyland, Lytham St Annes, Morecambe, Nelson, Rawtenstall, Fleetwood, Garstang, Skelmersdale.

Greater Manchester: Altrincham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Bury, Droylsden, Eccles, Hyde, Harpurhey, Hyde, Leigh, Longsight, Manchester, Manchester Victoria, Oldham, Rochdale, Sale, Salford, Stockport, Stretford, Urmston, Wigan, Wythenshawe.

Liverpool and Merseyside: Bebington, Birkenhead, Bootle, Crosby, Formby, Huyton, Kirkby, Knowsley, Liverpool, Prescot, Speke, St Helens.

Cheshire: Chester, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Northwich, Runcorn, Warrington, Widnes, Winsford.

Cumbria: Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Kendal, Keswick, Penrith, Whitehaven.