Press releases

Walsall-based G Simmons & Sons, the family-owned manufacturer of pork scratchings, pork crackling and related products, is to expand its premises to cater for record demand following £334,000 in funding from Santander Business Banking.

Local Leicester-based family independent opticians Opticare Midlands Ltd (“Opticare”) has purchased the freehold premises of an existing practice in the region, expanding its footprint to four outlets, after receiving funding from Santander Business Banking.

• ����Ӱ��, in conjunction with the Food & Drink Federation and the Department of International Trade, took 12 UK food and drink manufacturers to India on a week-long trade mission in January
• Firms that attended included Amber Glen Scotch Whisky Co., Delamere Dairy, Provenance Brands, The English Cheesecake Company, Greene King, Iceland Foods and St James Smokehouse (Scotland)
• Significant opportunities exist for UK food and drink manufacturers in Indian food market forecast to be worth £500 billion by 2020

Heart of England Mencap has received a £5,000 grant to fund a volunteer co-ordinator to help customers find and access volunteering opportunities within the local community.

Loughborough University has received £5,000 to enable them to deliver money management skills workshops to students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the East Midlands.

����Ӱ��, via its merchant acquiring partner Elavon, will from the spring enable its business customers to join the growing European networks of well-known Chinese payment wallet providers, across e-commerce solutions.

Soccer Direct FC, the Black Country-based online football teamwear retailer, has secured significant funding from Santander Business Banking to facilitate the purchase of new premises following an extended period of growth and record revenues. The new headquarters – based at Lower Church Lane, Tipton – is double the size of the previous base to cater for a growing demand for its products and a potential increase in employee numbers in 2018.

The mother and son team behind one of west London’s more successful jewellery businesses have been able to realise their dream of expanding the business following funding from Santander Business Banking. Rathy Jewellers, based in Wembley, has received significant funding from Santander Business Banking to refurbish its existing store and take over an adjoining shop for its new brand proposition, IMJ Imitation Jewellery.

Cumbria Deaf Association has received £5,000 to fund the cost of providing a development worker to support the deaf community in the Furness area of South Cumbria.

• Unarranged overdraft fees to be removed completely from Santander current accounts that charge monthly account fees: 123, 123 Lite and Select / Private current accounts
• Unarranged overdraft fees to be capped at £50 per month, reduced from £95 per month, on other personal current accounts
• Customers to be automatically registered for unarranged overdraft alerts to help minimise or prevent fees

On 23^rd January 2018, ����Ӱ�� will officially open its newly designed and refurbished branch on 28 Broad Street, Seaford.

• Santander mortgages applied for from 23 January onwards will transfer to our new Follow-on Rate (FoR) at the end of the fixed or tracker rate period
• Products applied for prior to this date will continue to move to Santander’s Standard Variable Rate (SVR) at the end of their term
• Santander’s FoR is a variable rate that tracks at 3.25 per cent above the Bank of England Base Rate (currently 0.50 per cent), giving a rate of 3.75 per cent

On Wednesday, 10^th January 2018, ����Ӱ�� will officially open its newly designed and refurbished branch on Beeston High Road.

On Wednesday, 10^th January 2018, ����Ӱ�� will officially open its newly designed and refurbished branch on Victoria Square, Aberdare.

On Tuesday 9^th January 2018, ����Ӱ�� will officially open its newly designed and refurbished branch on 37-39 High Street, Ely.

The Together Project, a London-based community programme which runs activities that unite different age groups, has received £10,000 of matched funding from Santander’s innovative Changemaker Fund.

London-based Battery Energy Storage Solutions Ltd (“BESS”), a leading independent provider of power storage, energy security and energy flexibility services, has secured £28.5 million in funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial to execute its strategy of becoming one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of battery storage assets. The short term strategy is to build and operate a portfolio of 100MW of grid scale battery storage assets by the end of 2018.

MESH, a community interest company which is setting up Plymouth’s first Library of Things, has received £3,710 of matched funding from Santander’s innovative Changemaker Fund. The library will enable people in Plymouth to borrow tools and equipment in a similar way to borrowing books from a traditional library.

Evolve, a Birmingham-based community programme which provides educational and activity courses to support disadvantaged children, has received £5,000 of matched funding from Santander’s innovative Changemaker Fund.

Madlug, a community-based social enterprise in Northern Ireland which helps children in care carry their personal possessions with dignity by providing them with a specially designed bag, has received £10,000 of matched funding from Santander’s innovative Changemaker Fund.