All the UK Santander bank branches that will close this week
Santander said it will be left with 349 branches after the sweeping changes.
This week, a handful of those branches are set to close across the country – see the list.
All Santander bank closures happening this week
The following Santander branches will close this week:
Monday, June 23
Blackwood, Gwent, Wales
Cleveleys, Lancashire
Eltham, London
Glasgow MX, Lanarkshire
Tuesday, June 24
Aberdare, Glamorgan, Wales
Glasgow LDHQ, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Greenford, Greater London
Wednesday, June 25
Brecon, Powys, Wales
Thursday, June 26
Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Santander said the changes are being made as customers increasingly switch to online banking with it citing a 63% surge in digital transactions since 2019 while branch transactions have slumped by 61% in that time.
A Santander UK spokesman said: 'As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future.
'Our new combination of full-service branches, alongside work cafes, counter-free branches and reduced hours branches, aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance.'
He added: 'Closing a branch is always a very difficult decision and we spend a great deal of time assessing where and when we do this and how to minimise the impact it may have on our customers.'
Santander said that from June 30, the majority of the reduced-hours branches will be open three days a week – either Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.30am to 3pm, or Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.30am to 3pm and Saturdays from 9.30am to 12.30pm.
Recommended reading:
The bank announced in March that it would change 18 sites to being counter-free from June 16 but stressed they will also be manned by staff to offer face-to-face support with an average of eight workers in these branches.
The group will be recruiting 95 new 'community bankers' in the locations where it is shutting branches and hopes to redeploy some of the affected workers into these jobs.
They will visit local communities on a weekly basis, based in centres such as libraries and community halls.
Is your local Santander branch closing? Let us know in the comments.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
35 minutes ago
- The Guardian
UK rail regulator rejects Virgin's bid for west coast mainline route
Sir Richard Branson's hopes of returning Virgin trains to the west coast mainline have been dashed after the UK rail regulator rejected its application amid concerns over delays and cancelled journeys. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has rebuffed three applications for the route, which connects London to Glasgow and serves major cities including Birmingham. Branson's Virgin, East Coast Trains (known as Lumo) and Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company Ltd, all lost their bids. The regulator said new services could not be introduced due to insufficient space on the west coast mainline (WCML), which would 'likely detriment … train performance'. The line is operated by Avanti West Coast – a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia – but is due to be one of the final major routes renationalised by the Labour government by October 2027 at the latest. The government has also been attempting to increase competition on the railways by opening up access to rival operators. Stephanie Tobyn, ORR's director of strategy, policy and reform, said: 'After thorough assessment of each application, it was clear that there was insufficient capacity to approve any of the services without a serious negative impact on the level of train performance that passengers experience on the west coast mainline. While the ORR recognised there was an advantage to adding competition on the route, Tobyn said the southern end of the route needed space in the timetable to ensure proper running of trains. 'Additional services within the current timetable structure and planned capacity use would further weaken punctuality and reliability, not just at the south end of the WCML but elsewhere as well,' he said. Virgin has been vying for a return to Britain's rails since being taken off the tracks by the Conservative government, which blocked the renewal of its west coast franchise in 2019. Virgin had previously operated services on the line since 1997. Virgin had applied for three new services from London Euston, with contracts lasting 10 years until December 2035. They would include services to Greater Manchester and the north-west, Liverpool Lime Street and Birmingham New Street. In May, Network Rail refused to support the three companies' applications to access the line, and Virgin appealed to the ORR. On Thursday, the ORR said it considered Virgin's application in its own right but arrived at the same conclusion for each application. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Documents released alongside the notice showed the Department for Transport said the line already operated at 'close to capacity', particularly in and out of London Euston and was concerned about conflicts with the HS2 and Avanti West Coast services. The DfT added that Virgin's application would have an 'unacceptable level of impact on taxpayers, given the greatly constrained overall position of rail finances, and that the loss of revenue on such a significant scale would materially impact the funds available' to the government to invest in the railway. Virgin criticised ORR's decision, saying it was a 'blow for consumer choice and competition' and that the proposed service would have resulted in '5m additional seats every year from a trusted brand with a track-record for delivering award-winning, reliable train services for its customers.' It also hit out at Labour's nationalisation plans. 'Anyone who remembers British Rail would rather forget it. Competition improves services, increases rail ridership, and drives better results for everyone, including the taxpayer,' it said.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Santander's bet on Britain with TSB deal shows banks' need for scale
MADRID/LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Santander's ( opens new tab plan to buy TSB for 2.65 billion pounds ($3.61 billion) and boost its position in the UK came together only a few weeks ago, after the Spanish bank had been considering a possible exit from Britain, three sources close to the process said. The lender, grappling with years of underperformance at its UK business and a market share that at best had flatlined, had this year been reviewing its two-decade presence in Britain. Instead, two developments coincided to hand Santander a chance to snap up TSB, the British unit of Spanish bank Sabadell ( opens new tab, one of the sources close to the process said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. In early May, Santander announced it was selling its Polish bank, raising 6.8 billion euros ($8.02 billion) in the process. Then word reached it that Sabadell - which itself is the subject of a takeover offer from Santander rival BBVA ( opens new tab - had started receiving offers for TSB, the seventh-biggest British bank by number of branches and a lender that has struggled under Sabadell's control. Advised by Centerview, Robey Warshaw and Deutsche Bank, Santander and its bankers had worked for the past three weeks to put in an offer late on Friday, the source said. Sabadell - working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley - appeared to keep everyone guessing until a Tuesday board meeting. In the end, Santander beat runner-up Barclays (BARC.L), opens new tab, with the difference between the offers tiny, two sources close to the process said. The deal highlights how rising consolidation in European banking is prompting lenders outside the top tier to realise they need to scale or sell out. Santander and Sabadell declined to comment. Centerview, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley also declined to comment. Robey Warshaw did not respond to requests for comment. Acquiring TSB will boost Santander's ranking in UK mortgages to fourth from fifth, RBC estimates. For that, Santander is paying 1.45 times TSB's book value, which analysts said was high but reflected the depth of cost-cutting the Spanish lender believes possible by slashing duplicated back office roles and branches. "The acquisition of TSB serves to bulk up Santander's UK business significantly and presents material cost extraction opportunities," said John Cronin, banking analyst at SeaPoint Insights. Cronin said it could be "the first step in a wider play to drive consolidation within the mainstream lending space - with Santander potentially on the offensive". British lenders flush with cash from higher interest rates are looking at more deals, notably as upstart challenger banks call time on their struggles to take market share from the biggest players. It mirrors a consolidation process taking place in other European markets, including in Italy, as banks are forced to compete for size because of tighter regulations and massive technology costs. Bankers say the Santander move will also increase pressure on other British lenders wanting to expand through acquisitions, especially as the number of obvious options declines, with Virgin Money, Tesco's (TSCO.L), opens new tab bank and now TSB all taken over in the past 18 months. After reports emerged in January that Santander, a sprawling bank operating in 10 core markets, wanted out of Britain, Executive Chair Ana Botin said publicly that the bank was committed to the UK. While the TSB deal delivers on that promise, the success of the transaction is partly predicated on potentially difficult cost cutting. Santander has said it expects to take out 400 million pounds of costs, about 55% of TSB's cost base. That well exceeds feasible cost synergies of 40% in the UK based on past transactions, analysts at BofA said in a report. The bank said the deal will generate a return on invested capital of over 20% and help lift the UK business' return on equity to 16% from an industry-lagging 11%. Integrating computer systems and migrating customer accounts has proven a tough task in Britain due to a reliance by lenders on often decades-old legacy software. Two of the sources close to the process said Santander would use Gravity, its new IT system, to help with the integration. The Spanish lender's aim to cut costs by slashing branches and jobs may also trigger protests from unions and customers, as well as political scrutiny. Santander will also have to battle to win market share from Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), opens new tab and NatWest (NWG.L), opens new tab that dominate more profitable banking services such as mortgages and credit cards, even with the scale it has added by buying TSB. ($1 = 0.7346 pounds) ($1 = 0.8480 euros)
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Business news live: Bonds latest after yields rise and Microsoft cut 4% of workforce in AI push
The yields on UK ten year bonds rose sharply on Wednesday as Keir Starmer failed to guarantee the job of chancellor Rachel Reeves, resulting in higher borrowing costs, before stabilising after a Labour statement said Ms Reeves was 'going nowhere'. That didn't stop market speculation, as the pound also sank in reaction. Meanwhile, news across the business world saw TSB confirm it would be bought by Santander to create the UK's third-biggest bank, pending approval, and AstraZeneca's CEO has held conversations over moving the biggest firm on the London Stock Exchange to a US listing. Elsewhere, Microsoft are cutting 9,000 jobs as the race to employ AI for tasks continues, while Thursday also sees The Independent show how Trump tariffs are impacting small and medium businesses across the UK. The FTSE 100 was flat on Wednesday, despite several miners enjoying strong rises.
