GB Bank has officially opened the doors to its prestigious headquarters at 2 Centre Square, Middlesbrough welcoming staff and prominent members of the local business and property community to its offices boasting inventive interiors and a dynamic co-working environment.

GB Bank will occupy 11,000 sq ft net of office accommodation in Middlesbrough’s purpose-built 2 Centre Square which will be the base for the 50 head office staff covering finance, risk, customer management, marketing, human resources, IT, lending, savings and more.

GB Bank is a new specialist bank committed to boosting economic growth and prosperity for underserved regions of the UK. It will be a dedicated lender to SME property developers, bringing its regional passion and expertise to customers across the UK. This will be achieved by providing accessible, bespoke property development loan products with incentives for sustainable and zero carbon developments and rewards for developers committed to creating local employment opportunities.

GB Bank has further local links thanks to its cornerstone investor, the Teesside Pension Fund (TPF), which has invested £48m to date. The TPF provided an initial £20m and agreed to invest up to an additional £28m, when GB Bank obtained its provisional banking licence which was achieved towards the end of last year, making it the newest challenger bank.

Stephen Lancaster, Interim CEO at GB Bank, said: “We believe that 2 Centre Square is a fantastic location for the bank, allowing us to draw upon the region’s established transportation network and to tap into the talent pool in Middlesbrough and across the North East. This is a very exciting time for GB Bank as we continue to scale up and define our operations and technology platforms. We are well on track to officially launch the bank to the market in the third quarter of this year when we will announce our property development lending criteria and competitive savings accounts. Bringing GB Bank to Middlesbrough is a real boost for the North East region benefiting the people we employ as well as the property developers we will work with.

“The design of the offices at 2 Centre Square has been superb, creating an office space into a creative, agile, and empowering environment to work. To have the opportunity to design our offices from scratch the way we want has been fantastic. We are delighted with the result which provides a relaxing working environment that is geared towards flexible working arrangements with welcoming break out areas and meeting rooms. This commitment was also recognised recently as #69 in the  Flexa100 ranking of the world’s most flexible companies.

Using open plan design and neutral colour palette we have created an innovative ‘co-working’ space for our employees where we can also welcome property developers and customers too.”

Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston added: “Centre Square is the North East’s premier office location, and that’s why ambitious, growing businesses like GB Bank are queuing up to move here.

“It’s just the latest endorsement for a development that’s creating jobs and prosperity and playing a key role in transforming the town centre.

“That’s a major boost for Middlesbrough, and one that’s delivering long-term benefits for the whole area.”

Mark Ashall, the Managing Director of Ashall Projects and developer of Centre Square, said: “I am delighted to welcome GB Bank to Centre Square and, as with all the other new occupiers, it’s great to see how they are using the fantastic space the building provides to create a stunning workplace and great working environment for members of its team.

“Centre Square has many other benefits – not least its proximity to local amenities, including the station with new direct rail services to London.  With the construction of the next Centre Square building well underway, Middlesbrough town centre is rapidly becoming the new hub for business in the Tees Valley with all the many benefits that brings.”

For more information and to follow our journey please visit www.gbbank.co.uk