Coutts this week opens its new UK regional office in Chelmsford, Essex.

Coutts this week opens its new UK regional office in Chelmsford, Essex. Initially staffed by six client-facing managers, two newly recruited to Coutts, the new office is headed up by Alan Midwinter who also manages Coutts’ Canary Wharf office. James Fleming, head of International Private Banking at Coutts, as well as being leader of the executives group, has overall responsibility for the new office. “We hope to increase the headcount in the Chelmsford office to eight by the end of the year,” Mr Fleming told WealthBriefing. “We find that six is the optimal number to start a new office. A new office needs a certain level of staffing but it shouldn’t be over staffed at the beginning.” “For this office we’re targeting the entrepreneurs and executives who live in the Essex and Suffolk area. We estimate there to be around 4,500 high net worth individuals in the area served by the new office.” The new location, Eastwood House in Glebe Road, is shared with fellow group members from the RBS corporate team and it is hoped that cross-referrals will follow. Mr Midwinter, said: “Chelmsford is an ideal town for Coutts to open an office. Both our Guildford and Milton Keynes offices sit on the fringes of London, and have had great success in developing our business in the Home Counties. However, demand and opportunity is such that we need to allocate more resource to the area. Chelmsford, with its excellent transport network and strong professional community, is an obvious choice. “The new offices are a fantastic reflection of the regional expansion programme in which we have invested over the last few years. We want to be accessible and geographically close to our clients. Where our competitors are only now beginning to move back into regional private banking, many having exited in 2002/3, Coutts is reaping the rewards of its long term commitment to the UK regions, which has now become the fastest growing area of our business.” Coutts is planning to open two further UK regional offices this year, one in Reading during the third quarter, and the other in Cheltenham, by the end of the year.