The company hopes to transform the way SME lending is delivered by focusing on providing frictionless debt solutions to UK businesses. 

Jonathan Thompson, CEO and founder of B-North (pictured above, right), said: “Applying for our banking licence has been an intense, but engaging process for the whole team. 

“As we have progressed through the process, we have found the regulator to be supportive and constructive, and we are looking forward to the future with confidence.

“The B-North team has decades of experience in starting and scaling banks, gained at some of the industry’s best-known and most innovative firms. 

“We know what works for SMEs and, equally as important, what doesn't. 

“Furthermore, we are embracing the UK’s critical and fast-growing intermediary segment in a unique way. 

“As such, our proposition to the UK SME lending market is based on professionalism, integrity and deep insight.”

Its business model will combine experienced staff with cloud-native technology, and work alongside SMEs and their advisers.

It will launch with a regional presence in three core locations, including Leeds and Manchester.

Jonathan added: “Our regional ‘lending pods’, in major cities across the UK, will allow structured lending to be made available to SMEs quickly and efficiently. 

“Our whole business is built around this objective, with lending decisions based on deep insights that go way beyond cursory financial analysis.  

“SMEs have been the backbone of the UK economy for a very long time — and we are proud to be a business which aims to facilitate further growth and prosperity in this sector and the wider UK economy.”

Also pictured: David Broadbent, CFO at B-North