Castle Trust Bank has been acquired from J.C. Flowers & Co by investment vehicles backed by Sixth Street and affiliates of Bayview Asset Management.
The specialist bank, which serves nearly 170,000 customers, will be owned by Sixth Street and Bayview as equal partners.
The new owners have agreed to provide additional capital to support the expansion of Castle Trust Bank’s retail savings business, product range and customer deposits.
The investment will also be used to develop the bank’s specialist property finance operations and its Omni Capital Retail Finance business. Castle Trust Bank said the backing could allow it to pursue acquisitions of assets.
The bank will continue to be led by its existing management team, including chief executive Martin Bischoff.
Bischoff said: “This investment from Sixth Street and Bayview is a strong endorsement of our strategy, our people, and our future potential.
“We have grown customer savings balances to more than £1.6 billion, built a specialist property finance loan book of more than £1.1 billion and a retail finance loan book exceeding £200 million — establishing a strong platform for future growth.
“With the backing of our new shareholders, we are well placed to invest in our customer proposition, expand across retail savings, specialist property and retail finance, and pursue additional growth opportunities while maintaining a disciplined focus on risk and delivering sustainable outcomes for customers, colleagues, brokers, retailers, and partners.”
Masashi Washida, managing director of asset based finance at Sixth Street, added: “We look forward to working with Martin and the highly seasoned management team to support Castle Trust Bank in continuing to deliver the exceptional service its customers expect.
“Together with Bayview, we believe the Bank’s experienced leadership and its robust, well-established risk and technology platform create a strong foundation for sustainable growth and scalable operations at an attractive time in the market.”
Pierre Lussato, managing director at Bayview, said: “Castle Trust Bank has built an impressive reputation for customer service, specialist expertise, and prudent growth.
“We look forward to supporting the Bank’s continued growth across savings, specialist lending, and retail finance, while it delivers innovative products and excellent customer outcomes.”
