We have always believed that it is important to recognise those providers that have helped to keep the competition alive in the savings market, offering savers an alternative to leaving their funds languishing with the high street banks. In past years we’ve highlighted providers that have cut their rates by less than others, but with the base rate rising over the 18 months, it’s great to be able to reward providers that have been passing on the good news and helping savers to earn substantially more interest than we have seen for well over a decade.
The provider chosen this time is United Trust Bank (UTB).
This is an ideal opportunity to find out more about a provider that is often competing at the top of the savings market.
Who is UTB?
Whilst some savers may be unfamiliar with the name, UTB actually has a history stretching back almost 70 years, having been founded in 1955 and establishing itself as a specialist lender, mainly providing development finance to SME housebuilders as they tackled the post-war housing shortage.
In 2004 Graham Davin, Harley Kagan and Roger Tidyman led a management buy-out of United Trust Bank, which had loan book of £20m at that time. Kagan is now leading the business as CEO, whilst Davin and Tidyman have retired although Davin remains close to the bank as Deputy Chair.
The new team set about updating, expanding and diversifying the Bank’s operations, transforming UTB itself as a specialist lender with divisions that specialise in areas such as asset finance, bridging finance, development finance, specialist mortgages and structured property finance, in addition to the various deposits products that it provides for personal, business and charity customers. The Bank has grown in a considered and careful way and by December 2022 had a loan book in excess of £2.4bn.
The bank is located in Ropemaker Street in the city of London and has a contact centre based at its offices, offering customers access to real and knowledgeable people on the phone when you need them, to help your journey go as smoothly as possible, whether you are depositing cash or borrowing.
Most importantly, United Trust Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In addition, United Trust Bank is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so funds placed with the provider would be covered up to £85,000 per person, should the provider go out of business.
For more information on the FSCS, please take a look at our handy guide or call us on 0800 011 9705 to speak to one of our expert savings advisers.
Where do your savings go when you open a savings account with UTB?
We asked UTB to give us some examples of who they lend to, as we know that for many it’s important to have a good idea about how your money could be used while it is with the bank. They provided examples to illustrate several of the key lending specialisms.
Asset Finance
UTB was approached to fund the purchase of a new Househam self-propelled sprayer and JCB Agri Telehandler by a 5th generation farming business, which was looking to trade in their old machinery for new. They owned 150 acres and rented another 3300 acres for their mix of arable, dairy and beef farming. The business was showing a modest profit and capital balance but as with many farms, a lot of value was in their land, in this case around £1.2m. We agreed to provide the £182k loan required with the remainder of the purchase costs coming from the trade-in of their older machines and cash from the farm.
Bridging
UTB was asked to assist a middle-aged couple wishing to downsize and purchase their smaller home before completing the sale of their existing property.
The couple’s large family home had a market value of £2.5m and they had found a property to move to nearby for £1.5m. The £1.6m bridging loan required would enable them to complete their purchase, pay the stamp duty and cover the fees and interest on the 12-month facility.
As a regulated bridging loan, the broker provided the couple with advice and suggested UTB with their experience and knowledge of regulated bridging would be a suitable lender. With the brokers swiftly assisting with due diligence, the bridging loan was quickly agreed and ready to draw down when the borrowers’ completed their purchase.
Development
UTB was approached to provide £12.7m of development funding to support the creation of 35 new ‘carbon neutral’ apartments equipped with a range of cutting-edge energy efficient features.
The energy efficiency and sustainability of the apartments were key to the marketing of the new homes. The building is extremely thermally efficient with triple glazing and an exhaust air heat pump system providing underfloor heating. The building has solar panels generating 35,000 KWH of electricity each year and on sunny days excess electricity is stored in 10 Tesla Powerwalls to be used during peak pricing times. Combined, the features have led to the apartments being awarded a coveted A-rated EPC, achieved by only 0.1% of UK homes.
Today’s Savings Market
UTB regularly features in our best buy tables in a variety of different categories and beyond this, the provider has a number of other competitive accounts to choose from.
At the time of writing UTB is paying the top 15 month bond rate and until today (23/6/23) could be found in the top five across all terms of fixed rate bonds. I have no doubt they will be back.
But that’s not all. It features in our notice account table for those who’d like a little more interest for not being able to access your money immediately - and the bank is paying the top 5-year fixed rate cash ISA rate.
Not only this, but it’s worth being aware that UTB is also one of the few providers that will normally offer a better rate for existing customers, who are looking to roll over their maturing fixed term bonds. A nice feature that may mean you can roll over into a market leading account, without the need to switch providers.
That said, it’s always worth checking the best buy tables, to make sure you are being offered a competitive account.
One of the most interesting aspects of United Trust Bank’s savings range is the number of different customers and needs that the provider caters for. They offer accounts for different types of businesses, as well as for pension funds and trusts and also for registered charities. This should be commended as, for some of these groups and needs, accounts can be difficult to find and open.
At the moment, UTB is offering the top rates on offer for these business and charity customers over a range of fixed rate bond terms and notice accounts.
With these competitive accounts, no wonder then that UTB was the winner of our Best Business Notice Account Provider and a finalist for the Best Business Fixed Rate Bond Provider of the year at our 2023 awards.
To compare its accounts to the rest of the market and for more information on alternatives, take a look at our Best Buy Tables.
All personal accounts can now be opened online, as UTB continues to improve its online banking services, with recent updates to its online banking portal, the introduction of online applications for ISAs and a programme of enhancements and updates always in progress.
A final word…
It is tempting to stick to the well-known brands when it comes to savings accounts, but in doing so, you may be missing out on some of the best rates on the market. Whilst there are some exceptions, for example High Interest Current Accounts, you cannot rely on the larger brands and high street names to offer the best interest rates.
Providers like United Trust Bank and other less well-known providers continue to drive competition in the savings market and offer some of the best rates available at the moment.
The best strategy is to look at all options and take each provider on its own merits, considering alternative providers to get the best returns for your money. As long as you do your research (or ask us for more information!) and are comfortable with the provider, there is no reason not to consider them in future.
UTB gets a rating of 4.6 on Trust Pilot, with 77% of the reviews giving a 5 star rating. Looking through the recent reviews, many express that the account opening process is smooth and quick and any questions or problems that do arise would appear to be swiftly resolved by the aforementioned contact centre based in London.
United Trust Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In addition, United Trust Bank is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so funds placed with the provider would be covered up to £85,000 per person, should the provider go out of business.
*This is a sponsored article. We are occasionally paid by some providers if you click through from our Best Buy Tables and open a savings or current account with them. We will never accept a payment that compromises in any way our independent, whole of market approach to providing information on savings products. For clarity we will indicate those companies who remunerate us with an asterisk (*).
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