A leading UK merchant banking group
At Close Brothers, we are here to help the people and businesses of Britain thrive over the long term.
Close Brothers is a leading UK merchant banking group providing lending, deposit taking, wealth management services and securities trading.
A FTSE250 company, we employ over 3,700 people, principally in the UK, and are listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Read about our history in The Origins of Modern Merchant Banking
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Our values
We remain committed to our traditional values of service, expertise and relationships alongside teamwork, integrity and prudence, to help the people and business of Britain thrive over the long term.
Our Distinctive Approach
- We focus on our core values which drive strong employee engagement and customer loyalty
- Across our businesses we have a deep knowledge of the industry sectors and asset classes we serve which allows us to provide firmer lending decisions and faster access to funds when clients need them the most
- We take a prudent approach to managing our financial resources. We maintain a prudent maturity profile, with diverse sources of funding, and a conservative capital position throughout the cycle
- Each of our businesses is a specialist in its own niche market, driven by a strong customer led proposition and long-term client relationships
- We apply our lending criteria consistently at all stages in the financial cycle which protects the quality and returns of our lending while providing continuity of service for our clients
- Our lending is predominantly secured, with conservative loan to value ratios, small loan sizes and short maturities
Our model
Close Brothers has an established reputation as a responsible bank with a distinctive, prudent business model and a long-term approach. We focus on providing straightforward products and services in sectors we know and understand, and delivering quality and reliability for our clients.
Through all market conditions, we remain focused on:
- Providing straightforward products and services
- Maintaining a prudent approach and strong financial position
- Building lasting relationships
Our leadership
Mike Biggs
Mike was the chairman of Direct Line Insurance Group plc from 2012 until August 2020. He was previously chairman of Resolution Limited, then a FTSE 100 UK life assurance business, and has acted as both chief executive officer and group finance director of Resolution plc. Mike was group finance director of Aviva plc and is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales ("ICAEW").
Mark Pain
Current External Appointments: Mark serves as the chairman of AXA UK plc where he chairs the nomination committee and he serves on the risk, remuneration and investment committees, and serves as the non-executive chairman of Empiric Student Property plc.
Mark has extensive finance, risk management and commercial experience, having held board positions at Barratt Developments plc and Abbey National Group. Mark has previously been a non-executive chairman of London Square Limited and a non-executive director of Yorkshire Building Society (where he served as senior independent director), Ladbrokes Coral Group plc, Punch Taverns plc, Spirit Pub Company plc, Johnston Press plc, and Aviva Insurance Limited, among others.
Adrian Sainsbury
From 2016 until September 2020, Adrian was managing director of Close Brothers’ Banking division. Since August 2013 he has been a director of Close Brothers Limited, the group’s banking subsidiary. Adrian has previously held executive roles at Barclays, RBS and Bank of Ireland and was chief executive of ANZ Bank in Europe. Adrian has also served as chairman of the Asset Based Finance Association, the UK and Ireland industry body.
Mike Morgan
From 2010 to 2018 Mike was chief financial officer of Close Brothers’ Banking division, and since 2010 he has been a director of Close Brothers Limited, the group’s banking subsidiary. Mike is a chartered accountant and from June 2013 to June 2019 was a member of the ICAEW Financial Services Faculty Board, and appointed the Board chair and an ICAEW Council member from June 2019 to June 2021. Prior to joining Close Brothers, Mike held a number of senior roles at Scottish Provident and RBS, most recently as finance director of the Wealth Management Division of RBS.
Kari Hale
Current External Appointments: Non-executive director and audit committee chair at AXA UK plc and currently a senior advisor to the Financial Reporting Council.
Kari held a range of senior roles at Deloitte including serving on its UK Financial Services Industry Board as head of strategy for the financial services practice. Previously Kari was an executive director at the Financial Services Authority.
Tracey Graham
Current External Appointments: Non-executive director of DiscoverIE Group plc, LINK Scheme Limited and Nationwide Building Society.
Tracey has broad executive experience from companies operating in the financial and business services sectors, both in the UK and internationally. She has extensive experience as a remuneration committee chair and also serving as a senior independent director. Tracey began her career at HSBC and subsequently held the role of director of customer services at AXA Insurance plc. She was chief executive officer of Talaris Limited, an international cash management business. Before that, she held a number of senior roles in De La Rue plc, including as managing director – Identity Systems, president – Sequoia Voting Systems and managing director – Cash Systems. Tracey served as a non-executive director of Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited for nine years until March 2022, as well as Ibstock plc for seven years until April 2023.
Patricia Halliday
Patricia has over 30 years’ experience in risk management across the investment, corporate and retail banking sectors. Patricia was chief risk officer (“CRO”) of Santander UK with responsibility for risk management and oversight across retail and commercial banking. Prior to Santander, Patricia was CRO of GE Capital International Holdings Limited. She began her career at NatWest, followed
by senior credit risk roles at Barclays Capital and then Deutsche Bank, including as Head of Leveraged and Structured Finance and Commercial Real Estate, and chair of the Underwriting Committee, covering the UK, European and US markets.
Tesula Mohindra
Current External Appointments: Non-executive director and chair of risk and audit committee of RAC Group, non-executive director and chair of consumer committee at NHBC (National House-Building Council) and trustee of Variety, the Children’s Charity.
Tesula qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and held managing director roles at JP Morgan and at UBS, specialising in corporate finance for financial institutions and pension fund risk management. She was also a founding member of the management team of Paternoster, the specialist bulk annuity insurer, where she was a member of the executive committee. Tesula has also worked as an independent corporate finance consultant on business plans and capital raising.
Sally Williams
Current External Appointments: Non-executive director of Lancashire Holdings Limited and of Family Assurance Friendly Society Limited (OneFamily) and chair of the audit committee at both companies. Sally was appointed as a trustee and chair of the audit and risk committees of Ovarian Cancer Action on 1 January 2023.
Sally is a member of the ICAEW. She has extensive risk, compliance and governance experience, having held senior executive positions at Marsh, National Australia Bank and Aviva. Prior to that, Sally held roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in both their risk management and audit teams over a period of 15 years.
Adrian Sainsbury
Adrian joined the board of Close Brothers Group plc as chief executive on 21 September 2020.
From 2016 to September 2020, Adrian was managing director of Close Brothers' Banking division. Since August 2013 he has been a director of Close Brothers Limited, the group’s banking subsidiary. Adrian has previously held executive roles at Barclays, RBS and Bank of Ireland and was chief executive of ANZ Bank in Europe. Adrian has also served as chairman of the Asset Based Finance Association, the UK and Ireland industry body.
Mike Morgan
Mike was appointed to the board as group finance director in November 2018.
From 2010 to 2018 Mike was chief financial officer of Close Brothers’ Banking division, and since 2010 he has been a director of Close Brothers Limited, the group’s banking subsidiary. Mike is a chartered accountant and from June 2013 to June 2019 was a member of the ICAEW Financial Services Faculty Board, and appointed the Board chair and an ICAEW Council member from June 2019 to June 2021. Prior to joining Close Brothers, Mike held a number of senior roles at Scottish Provident and RBS, most recently as finance director of the Wealth Management Division of RBS.
Robert Sack
Robert joined Close Brothers in April 2015 as Group Chief Risk Officer coming from Barclays where he had previously been Group Head of Wholesale Risk and Chief Risk Officer for Africa.
With a background in credit risk, Robert has also held roles as Chief Credit Officer for Barclays International Division as well as working for Barclays Capital in the Americas and globally for Standard Bank across emerging markets.
Simon Jacobs
Simon was appointed as Group Chief Operating Officer in August 2023.
Prior to joining Close Brothers, Simon was most recently Chief Operating Officer of Sainsbury's Bank & Argos Financial Services. Before that, he held a number of Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Operating Officer roles across the Commercial & Private Banking, Corporate Banking and Global Banking & Markets businesses in RBS/NatWest. Simon started his career with Barclays in both UK and international roles and also worked at Deloitte where he led transformation initiatives for Financial Services clients.
Simon has also previously chaired the Board of Trustees for a charity providing funding and support for Social Enterprises and Responsible Finance Providers.
Angela Yotov
Angela was appointed as Group General Counsel in August 2019.
Prior to joining Close Brothers, she was General Counsel at the fintech and peer-to-peer lending platform, RateSetter. She was previously at Barclays Bank PLC from 2006-2015 in the investment bank and wealth management divisions and prior to that she was at Latham & Watkins, having started her career at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Angela is also a non-executive director and trustee of Fareshare, the UK’s largest food redistribution charity.
Rebekah Etherington
Rebekah joined Close Brothers in October 2009 as Group Head of Human Resources having previously been at Royal Bank of Scotland Group as Head of Human Resources for the banking and fixed income capital markets business in the Americas, with global responsibility for the RBS Sempra Commodities Trading companies.
Prior to that she worked at West LB, having started her professional career at Ernst and Young. Rebekah is also a trustee of the Cardinal Hume Centre.
Ian Cowie
Ian was appointed CEO of Retail for Close Brothers in October 2023.
Prior to joining Close Brothers, he was most recently Chief Executive Officer at Shawbrook Bank. Before that, Ian held a number of Managing Director roles within Banking at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, where he had leadership responsibility for SME Banking, Lombard Asset Finance and RBS Invoice Finance.
Bradley Dyer
Bradley joined Winterflood in 2004 as a senior dealer and was appointed Associate Director in 2014. He was appointed to the Winterflood Board as a Director in 2017 and became Head of Trading in 2018, with overall responsibility for trading across all sectors. He was promoted to Managing Director in April 2022 and was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Winterflood, with effect from 20 September 2022.
Prior to joining Winterflood, he worked at James Capel and HSBC and later joined WestLB Panmure and WestLB Equity Capital Markets in 1997. He was mainly based at WestLB Panmure in London, but also spent time in both the New York and Dusseldorf office locations, trading European & US Equities as an Executive Director.
Phil Hooper
Phil joined the Property Finance division of Close Brothers as CEO in December 2023.
Phil joined the Bank from Pluto Finance where he was Head of Lending. He previously spent 36 years at Nat West Bank, latterly as Head of Real Estate where he managed the UK loan book of £30 billion.
Eddy Reynolds
Eddy Reynolds was appointed as Chief Executive of Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM) in March 2022. He has over 30 years' experience in the fund and wealth management industries.
Prior to joining CBAM he held a number of executive positions at Standard Life Aberdeen, most recently as Managing Director of Standard Life Savings. Earlier in his career he was Head of Investment at Lloyds Private Bank and previously held several senior roles at Aegon Asset Management and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP).
Eddy has BSc in Maths from the University of Manchester and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment. He is currently a non-executive director of Edinburgh fintech Aveni.
Matt Roper
Matt was appointed CEO Commercial for Close Brothers in August 2023.
Matt joined Close Brothers as Group Chief Credit Officer in 2018. In April 2021 Matt was appointed CEO of Invoice & Speciality Finance, a position he held until August 2023. Matt, a Chartered Accountant who trained with KPMG, previously held senior roles at Barclays, both in the UK and his native South Africa.
Nazrul Kazi
Nazrul was appointed as Group Head of Internal Audit in September 2022.
Nazrul has over 20 years’ experience in internal audit, beginning his audit career at KPMG, specialising in the financial services sector of the audit practice. He then joined the Coventry Building Society within internal audit before moving to GE Capital in the role of Head of Internal Audit. Most recently, Nazrul was Group Audit Director for Aldermore Group where he set up the group internal audit function. In this role he supported Aldermore through strategic development of governance, risk management and the internal control environment pre-IPO, as a FTSE 250 organisation and latterly as part of the FirstRand group.
Close Brothers and Horse Racing
Charity and community
Treating customers fairly
Fraud Prevention
