Challenger bank Atom is weeks away from moving from Durham into its new head office in Newcastle city centre, its CEO has revealed.
The digital only bank, which marked 10 years in business last year, announced earlier this year how it had signed up to relocate its headquarters to the Pattern Shop, in the former home of The Robert Stephenson and Co works, where the world famous Rocket was built in the 1880s. At the time the company said its office investment marked a ‘bold statement about how we see the future of work’.
Now the bank has announced in latest accounts how its relocation plans are now “well advanced” in “an important investment in the future of the franchise and one that will help us to drive delivery of the business plan and the realisation of our strategic vision”. Based in Founder’s Place, the Pattern Shop marks the latest redevelopment to take shape at the site, with a £9m restoration to turn it into a modern office space, having previously been left derelict since 2008.
The office is currently being fitted out ahead of welcoming the bank’s staff at the end of September.
Atom’s CEO Mark Mullen said: “Having spent our first decade in Durham, this Autumn we will move into our new HQ building, the Pattern Shop, located in the Stephenson Quarter near the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. The building has an extraordinary heritage. It was the design and manufacturing centre for the pioneering Stephenson brothers during the 1820s to 1850s.
"What was once a cradle of manufacturing and innovation for the first industrial revolution will soon become a centre of excellence for Atom as we begin the next phase of growth in our business.”
His comments come as the firm published its annual results for the year ended March 31 2025, in which total interest income rose from £441m to £442m, driven by growth in lending, and deposits topped £7.5bn, up from £5.7bn. Net interest income was £101m, up from £99m, while operating profit was £25m, down from £27m.
Meanwhile, staff costs increased by 13% to £37m with the average number of employees increasing from 504 to 544. SME unsecured loans totalled £0.2bn, down from £0.3bn, while SME secured loans stood at £0.8bn, up from £0.6bn. Mortgages reached £4.2bn, up from £3.2bn.
During the year the company launched the Atom Futures Fund to encourage and support sixth form students from low-income backgrounds, or those who are in the care system, to apply to Russell Group universities. It also announced it is funding two new scholarships to Durham University’s Women in Technology programme, to support the next generation of leaders in technology.
CEO Mark Mullen said: “It’s been a successful 12 months for Atom. We delivered our plan and met the financial targets we agreed with our board. We’ve grown both our lending and our deposits and remained unwavering in our support for the Ƶ economy.
“Our total loan balances increased by 29% to £5.3bn, a stark contrast to some of the Ƶ’s biggest banks whose loan books, despite their dominance, have struggled to grow at more than 2% annually over the past four years. Customer numbers are up 19%, helped in part by the fact that we have offered Ƶ savers 52% more interest on their instant access savings than the market average.
“We’re enormously proud to be the highest-rated Ƶ bank on Trustpilot, as well as the Ƶ’s highest-rated savings bank and mortgage lender, boasting a record-breaking Net Promoter Score of 89%. This isn’t luck; it’s the result of offering better value products, industry leading speed, and a genuine commitment to making things as easy as possible for everyone who chooses to deal with us.
“Atom isn’t just growing; we are growing in the right way. We are working hard to build a sustainable bank that challenges the status quo, one that champions competition and serves the real economy.”
Within the accounts, chairman Lee Rochford added: “It’s been a busy year at Atom, one in which we’ve achieved our financial targets and delivered our business plan. In the last year, Tier 1 banks have continued to offer paltry savings rates and have barely increased lending. It’s increasingly unclear what role these firms are playing in driving better customer outcomes or supporting Ƶ economic growth. By contrast and in spite of our relative youth and small scale, Atom is punching well above its weight.
“In April 2024 we celebrated our 10th anniversary. In this last decade we have made extraordinary progress. We have created a robust and profitable banking platform with a clarity of strategy led by a highly motivated team and supportive shareholders. We are on a clear course to deliver the shareholder value and the promise of our founding vision.”
