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press release

Tandem Bank making transformational acquisition with vision to build a fairer, greener digital bank

• Tandem Bank acquiring fast-growing consumer lender Oplo to create the UK’s fairer, greener digital bank
• Newly combined business will create a leading digital bank with day 1 profitability and strong long-term growth
• Tandem Bank will have over £1.2 billion of total assets, £1 billion of funding and more than 171,000 customers
• Tandem’s CEO Susie Aliker will lead the combined business, supported by Oplo founder, Alex Mollart, as Deputy Chief Executive

12 January 2022, London

Tandem Bank has announced it is acquiring fast-growing consumer lender Oplo to create a fairer, greener digital bank for UK consumer.

The business combination will create:

• A profitable digital bank with significant scale. The combined business will have £1.2 billion of total assets – including £230 million in green lending – £775 million in customer deposits and a growing customer base of over 171,000 customers serviced by a UK-based team of 500 people.
• A complementary consumer lending platform. The acquisition will broaden Tandem’s product offering across a range of consumer lending products including first and second charge mortgages, home improvement loans, car finance and personal lending – building on the combined lending capabilities of both Oplo and Tandem.
• An established digital savings business. Tandem will build on its existing savings franchise to enhance its range of savings products and deliver cost effective funding for the combined business.
• A purpose led Bank focused on a fairer and greener future. Operating under the Tandem brand, the enlarged bank will:
  - Leverage Tandem’s existing savings, mortgage and climate-friendly home improvement lending products to offer customers greener financial choices
  - Build on Oplo’s expertise in lending to offer customers fairer financial choices, focused on the estimated 26 million ‘new mainstream’ customers whose lending needs are underserved by the traditional high street banks

In growing Tandem’s £230 million of green lending, the Bank has financed 12,000 tonnes in CO2 reductions in the past year alone, while Oplo has helped some 20,000 customers to improve their credit scores since its launch – this is only the start of what is now possible as a combined business.

Tandem is on a mission to provide fairer and greener financial choices for the UK.

The transaction has been spearheaded by Pollen Street Capital.

Susie Aliker, Group CEO of Tandem Group commented: “This is a really exciting moment for Tandem – by combining with Oplo we will create a bank totally focused on helping our customers to make fairer and greener financial choices. The two businesses are a great fit, bringing together a complementary range of lending and savings products, with a shared common purpose to make a difference for our people, customers and the planet. With our flexible digital platform, new enlarged scale and strong profitability, Tandem is fantastically well positioned to become one of the UK’s leading digital banks.”

Alex Mollart, Deputy Chief Executive of Tandem Bank, and founder and CEO of Oplo, said: “We have built Oplo into one of the UK’s leading consumer lenders with a clear mission to offer financially fair lending products, helping hard-working people across the UK who are often overlooked and underserved by traditional lenders. Joining forces with Tandem creates a powerful new force which will enable us to launch smart products and develop new technologies to support even more consumers in their everyday financial lives.”

Matthew Potter of Pollen Street Capital, said: “We are excited to announce the combination of Tandem and Oplo and to work with Susie and Alex to build the UK’s leading consumer green digital bank. The combined business will have great foundations, both in Oplo’s strong asset origination capabilities as well as in the digital banking platform and green proposition of Tandem.”

Tandem Bank’s acquisition of Oplo has been agreed by both companies’ Boards with approval from both the companies’ major shareholders.

The acquisition has received regulatory approval and will complete before the end of January 2022.

You can watch this video in which CEO Susie Aliker and Deputy CEO Alex Mollart talk about the rationale for the deal.

press release

For further information / interview / photography requests, contact:

Tandem/Oplo

Press@tandem.co.uk

Emma Byrne, 56˚ North 07775 657 241
Anthony Thompson, 56˚ North 07585 403 053

Pollen Street Capital
Lucy Hill lucy.hill@pollencap.com / 07983 650034

Notes to Editors:

About the newly enlarged Tandem Group:

Tandem launched in 2014 as one of the UK’s original digital challenger banks providing customers with simple, transparent and fair products across its range of savings, green home improvement loans and mortgages. Tandem acquired Harrods Bank in 2018 and Allium Lending Group in 2020, a business focused on the home improvement lending sector.

Oplo launched in 2009, developing into a strong, profitable consumer lending business focusing on to the new mainstream of UK borrowers underserved by traditional high street banks.  In little over a decade Oplo has provided £915 million loans to customers since launch.

The combined business will have 500 employees with offices in London, Blackpool, Cardiff, Durham and Manchester.

Susie Aliker, Tandem CEO, will lead a combined Executive Team as Chief Executive.

Susie joined Tandem in June 2021 following a career in financial services, including most recently as CEO of trade finance bank BACB plc and before that holding senior investment and commercial banking positions with Credit Suisse.

Throughout her career, Susie has been focused on building customer led propositions, having begun her career on the Unilever Graduate Programme before moving into finance and corporate development roles in in the retail sector.

Alex Mollart, founder and current CEO of Oplo, will be Deputy Chief Executive of the new enlarged bank with responsibility for all bank wide lending.

Alex founded Oplo (formerly 1st Stop Group) in 2009, becoming one of the UK’s leading consumer lenders focussed on the UK’s growing market of 26 million new mainstream consumers who remain underserved by traditional banks.

In little over a decade Oplo has provided £915 million loans to customers since launch and employs c.300 staff in its Blackpool HQ, with offices in Durham and Manchester.