Annual Report

The Davies family, with sisters Emilia (11) and Sophie (8), tell us how NatWest Rooster Money is helping them to develop good money habits and build financial confidence.

Through the Rooster Money app, parents Vicki and Steve transfer pocket money into their children’s Rooster accounts after the girls have completed their chores. Emilia and Sophie can then choose to either spend their earnings with their Rooster cards or build up their savings to reach their goals.

‘We all love Rooster Money’ says Vicki. ‘As parents, we’re able to teach our children all about financial independence and give them control over what they spend, and where they spend it.’

Like all our customers, Emilia and Sophie manage their money differently. ‘I like to use my Rooster card to go out and get hot chocolate with my friends,’ says Emilia, who enjoys spending her pocket money. Sister Sophie is more future-focused. ‘Rooster Money is helping me save to buy the phone that I want.’

Rooster accounts are connected to a parent or guardian’s account with flexible parental controls and real-time spending notifications, giving children the independence they want, and parents the reassurance they need.

‘I can set spending limits and see in real-time how they’re spending their money. It’s really helped my children learn about the value of money in a safe, secure environment.’

At NatWest Group, we understand that high-growth businesses need funding to scale and grow in line with their ambitions.

However, many firms may lack valuable traditional fixed assets to pledge as security for loans. That’s why in January 2024, we launched an innovative new lending proposition that enables businesses to unlock the value of their intellectual property (IP).

Open Bionics, a Bristol-based prosthetics manufacturer, is one such company. It secured a six-figure loan from NatWest Group using intellectual property as collateral to invest in expanding its operations in the US.

‘We’re really excited to use this funding to supercharge growth,’ says Samantha Payne, Open Bionics co-founder and CEO. ‘For a company like ours, it’s been great to be able to leverage our intellectual capital through such an innovative funding solution’.

With loans starting from £250,000, IP-backed lending aims to improve the funding pipeline for high-growth UK businesses who, because of their lack of fixed assets, often find it difficult to secure funding to drive their growth.

For Louis Spencer, Relationship Director at NatWest Group, this new form of lending is an example of how the bank can be a vital partner to businesses such as Open Bionics.

‘This financing solution bridges a gap by enabling scale-ups like Open Bionics to use their intangible assets – such as patents, copyright and trademarks – to secure lending and ultimately drive growth.’

Kerr McEwan, a personal and business customer with Royal Bank of Scotland and Coutts, tells us why customer service has been a vital part of his banking journey.

A Royal Bank of Scotland personal customer from the age of 15, Kerr later opened a business account with RBS for his commercial landscaping company, M Squared, and was guided to join our Accelerator Programme.

‘The support I received through the programme was a gamechanger’, reflects Kerr, ‘specifically, the coaching and peer-to-peer learning about scaling a business was invaluable.’

From there, M Squared has grown rapidly, featuring in the FT1000 fastest-growing companies in 2019. During that time, the company has been supported with a range of our banking services – from loans, overdraft facilities and asset financing, to specialist advice, such as Mentor, the bank’s employment law and HR service.

Continuity of expert service has been key for Kerr. ‘The relationship I have with the bank has always been so helpful. They know me inside out and are there to anticipate my growth plans, both business and personal.’

Most recently, Kerr has also become a Coutts customer, receiving personalised wealth management support from the private banking team.

‘The partnering I get from the bank has now gone one stage further, with Coutts providing the expertise I need to help plan my family’s financial future.’

Through the use of schemes provided by UK Export Finance, NatWest Group provide businesses with access to specialist finance that might not otherwise be possible.

One such company is High Voltage Substation Services Limited (HVSS). Through Trade Finance Director, Andrew Hallworth, we initially supported the business with a multi-million pound bond facility guaranteed by UK Export Finance, which was increased in 2024 and is used for both UK and European projects.

The bond facility has enabled HVSS to issue advanced payment bonds and performance bonds to its overseas client who required these bank guarantees as part of a contract to build an electricity substation for Littleton Solar Farm Project in Worcestershire. ‘NatWest have been brilliant,’ shares Emmett Carton, Managing Director at HVSS. ‘By arranging this bond facility, we’ve been able to take on bigger projects, increase our turnover and take on more staff – ultimately making us stronger as a business.’

The bond facility is partially guaranteed by UK Export Finance and provides NatWest Group with revenue through monthly issuance fees over the bond’s duration.

‘It’s great to see the real-world outcomes of trade finance facilities supporting our customers,’ says Relationship Director, Lewis Williamson. ‘Knowing that this facility and the bonds that we have arranged for HVSS are helping the firm to not only win new business, but to support UK energy infrastructure and the transition to net zero, is a powerful demonstration of how we succeed with customers.’

Our Accelerator Programme gives entrepreneurs free support to expand their businesses. Jayden Patel, CEO and co-founder of Aquaint, shares how the programme is helping him to reach his goal of streamlining the hospitality sector.

After co-founding Aquaint to improve workflow management in the food industry, Jayden joined the NatWest Accelerator for support with scaling up his business.

‘It seemed like a great opportunity to network,’ Jayden explains, ‘I’ve joined an established community of like-minded entrepreneurs and gained access to industry experts.’

On the programme, entrepreneurs receive expert group and one-to-one coaching from our experienced acceleration managers to help them set goals and track progress, as well as support with developing important business skills such as pitching.

‘The support from our Acceleration Manager Jess has been invaluable. She’s encouraged us with reaching our goals, helped us navigate and embrace change, and is a consistent reminder of how far we’re progressing as a company.’

After a successful year on the Accelerator Programme growing his business, Jayden is now one of our High-growth Business Banking customers with access to further dedicated support. ‘Our Relationship Manager Neil has really helped us get to grips with the funding landscape to help us raise money and expand.’

‘The support we’ve received from NatWest goes beyond finances – Neil and Jess have leveraged their expertise and connected us with other businesses to boost our brand.’

With over 10 million customers now using our mobile app to manage their finances, NatWest Group’s Tanvi Gokhale, Head of Strategy for Retail Banking, and Niro Nirmalan, Head of Digital Transformation for Retail Banking, explain how we’re empowering customers through its latest digital improvements.

‘We know customers want to build good financial habits and boost their confidence with money. That’s why Insights, our financial wellbeing function in our mobile banking app, offers customers personalised support to help them better manage their money. We’ve seen some brilliant engagement with the tool since its launch in 2023, but we’re ambitious for Insights to go further. So, after gathering feedback from customers, in July 2024 we launched Fast-track your goals, our new digital experience giving customers personal plans to achieve their goals.

Customers use the tool by answering some quick questions about how they feel about their finances and what matters most to them. The tool then turns their answers into personalised coaching plans broken into bite-sized exercises, making it easier for customers to take actionable steps to improve their financial wellbeing.

Coupled with the option of using it during a Financial Heath Check with a bank colleague, it’s proving to be a great way to support customers with their goals, from better budgeting to saving for the future.’