In line with a number of wealth managers, Weatherbys Private Bank has highlighted its commitment to the North West.

Weatherbys Private Bank, one of the UK’s oldest private banks, has underlined Manchester’s role in its growth strategy. The bank, which first opened an office in Manchester in 2022, recently relocated to new premises at Sunlight House, Spinningfields, as part of its plans to double in size by 2030.

Similarly, a number of wealth managers and private banks are establishing presences beyond London and the Southeast. Organisations such as LGT Wealth Management, UBS, Julius Baer, Coutts, Barclays, HSBC and Brown Shipley, among others, have a regional footprint, which this news service analysed here in the aftermath of the pandemic at a time when people assumed that offices would be displaced. See more here.

“Sunlight House was Manchester’s first skyscraper and has now been totally ‘reimagined’ as a state-of-the-art office space,” Duncan Gourlay, the bank’s deputy head of private clients, said. “That same combination of history and innovation is central to our own story. Weatherbys’ origins can be traced back to 1770, but we’ve always strived to move with the times.

“Our vision for the business’s future is to drive growth through investment in people and technology. In other words, we want to combine our long-established culture with the cutting edge. With that goal in mind, we regard Manchester – along with the North West as a whole – as not just a hugely important region but a major element of our long-term growth ambitions.”

Family-owned since its founding, the Weatherbys Banking Group consists of Weatherbys Racing Bank, Arkle Finance, Weatherbys Business Bank and Weatherbys Private Bank.

“We work hard to give all our clients a highly personalised, face-to-face, relationship-led service. In return, they obviously appreciate the human touch we aim to provide,” Gourlay added. “At the same time, crucially, we’re investing heavily in our digital banking offering, This means our clients can have the best of both worlds – which is what they expect and deserve.”

Weatherbys' Manchester team is currently eight strong, with more recruits in the offing. It is led by senior private banker Michelle Duncalf, who grew up locally and is well known in the region.

Other team members include principal private banker Daniel Porteous and private banker Laurence Jackson, both of whom have also worked in the North West. See more about the private bank here and here.