santander uk plc type public limited company industry finance and insurance founded 11 january 2010 headquarters london england uk key people baroness vadera chairwoman nathan bostock ceo products financial services revenue 4.573 billion 2015 1 operating income 1.342 billion 2015 1 net income 962 million 2015 1 number of employees 19 992 2015 1 parent santander group divisions cahoot santander corporate and commercial banking santander private banking subsidiaries abbey national treasury services cater allen website www.santander.co.uk santander uk plc is a british bank wholly owned by the spanish santander group . santander uk plc manages its affairs autonomously with its own local management team responsible solely for its performance . santander uk is one of the uk s leading personal financial services companies and one of the largest providers of mortgages and savings in the uk . the bank has circa 20 000 employees 14 million active customers with almost 1 010 branches and 50 corporate business centres . the bank with its head office in the london borough of camden 2 3 was established on 11 january 2010 when abbey national plc was combined with the savings business and branches of bradford & bingley plc and renamed santander uk plc. alliance & leicester plc merged into the renamed business in may 2010 . between 2007 and 2010 santander was ranked as worst bank for customer service in the j. d. power uk retail banking satisfaction study . however its 123 product range was ranked third best in the uk in 2013 and in a moneysavingexpert.com poll in 2014 customers ranked their satisfaction higher than with any of other main high street banks . 4 5 6 in october 2011 moody s downgraded the credit rating of 12 uk financial firms including santander uk blaming financial weakness . 7 in june 2012 moody rated santander uk as being in a more financially healthy position than its parent company banco santander . less than 1 % of santander uk s business is held abroad . 8 contents 1 history 1.1 establishment 1.2 recent years 2 services 3 sponsorships 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit establishment edit santander uk head office triton square london the bank has its origins in three constituent companies abbey national alliance & leicester and bradford & bingley all former mutual building societies . abbey national trading as abbey had been bought by the santander group in 2004 for 9 billion . santander purchased alliance & leicester in mid september 2008 9 followed by the branches and savings business of bradford & bingley which had been nationalised by hm government during the 2008 banking crisis . 10 abbey national and the savings business and branches of bradford & bingley were rebranded as santander on 11 january 2010 and abbey national plc was renamed santander uk plc. formula one driver lewis hamilton unveiled the first rebranded santander branch that day in central london . a further 300 abbey and bradford & bingley branches in london and south east england were rebranded that day with branches in the rest of the uk following by the end of the month by which time there were 1 045 santander branches . 11 alliance & leicester plc merged into the bank on 28 may 2010 12 and was rebranded by the end of the year . 13 the bank retained the london headquarters of abbey national and renamed other regional buildings under its own name . 14 the abbey name was retained initially for abbey international now santander private banking and abbey for intermediaries now santander for intermediaries the division of the bank offering abbey branded mortgages provided by santander uk plc. 15 the charitable divisions of abbey bradford & bingley and alliance & leicester were brought together to form the santander foundation . 16 a rebranded branch of santander in peterborough due to the three way merger santander was in the unusual position of having more than one branch in many british high streets . in northumerland street newcastle upon tyne for example there were three branches which were formerly abbey alliance & leicester and bradford & bingley respectively . plymouth city centre had four branches within 300 metres two of which were adjacent to each other . in 2012 the bank began to reduce the number of duplicate branches identifying 56 that would close . staff in the branches selected for closure were moved to other nearby branches . 17 alliance & leicester commercial bank merged into santander s business banking division santander corporate banking in 2009 . 18 recent years edit on 9 march 2010 santander sold the investment and asset management business james hay to ifg group for 35 million . 19 later in the year it was confirmed on 4 august that santander would purchase the branches of the royal bank of scotland in england and wales and the branches of natwest in scotland as part of a divestment of the business by the royal bank of scotland group . 20 the deal collapsed on 12 october 2012 . 21 santander has frequently been rated the worst bank in the uk for customer service 22 although by july 2011 had sought to improve notably by returning call centre operations to the uk from india . 23 during 2011 the bank put aside 538m to cover claims from customers for the misselling of payment protection insurance ppi as did many other uk banks . 24 in december 2012 santander reached an agreement to sell its store card business which includes branded cards issued for retailers including topshop house of fraser and debenhams to sav credit . 25 the sale was completed on 13 may 2013 though santander continued to service accounts on behalf of sav credit until 1 april 2014 . 26 during 2014 the bank considered a initial public offering ipo expected to be completed within two years . 27 in november 2014 the chief executive of the santander group admitted that an ipo would not be forthcoming until market conditions improved . 28 this view was repeated in july 2015 . 29 services edit a branch of santander on briggate leeds the bank provides a full range of personal business and corporate accounts including current accounts mortgages credit products and savings and investments . santander operate online banking services including mobile apps and operate an internet only banking division branded cahoot . mortgages are also provided through santander for intermediaries a division of the bank used by brokers . santander s corporate and commercial banking division operates from a number of regional business banking centres across the uk . in may 2013 ana botin announced plans to double the number of centres to 70 within three years . 30 santander uk is authorised by the prudential regulation authority and regulated by both the financial conduct authority and the prudential regulation authority . 31 it is a member of the financial services compensation scheme uk payments administration bankers automated clearing services bacs the faster payments service the clearing house automated payment system chaps the cheque and credit clearing company the british bankers association 32 and subscribes to the lending code . 33 the bank operates a branch on the isle of man which is licensed by the financial supervision commission . 31 santander s offshore private banking subsidiary santander private banking operates in jersey . six digit account sort codes are used in the range between 09 00 xx to 09 19 xx . sort codes for accounts formerly held by alliance & leicester use the range 09 01 31 to 09 01 36 . in 2009 santander launched the uk s first current account without fees including unauthorised overdrafts for its current and future mortgage customers . 34 customers are not charged fees for using santander s automated teller machines in spain which traditionally would incur fees for transactions in a foreign currency . 35 sponsorships edit santander branded bicycles in london santander has sponsored the mclaren formula one team since 2007 36 and is also the title sponsor of the british grand prix . santander said its sponsorship of mclaren had raised its brand awareness in the uk from 20 to 82 percent . 37 the bank announced a second team sponsorship with scuderia ferrari in 2009 . 38 golfer rory mcilroy signed a sponsorship agreement with the bank in september 2011 39 and in 2013 it was announced that british athlete jessica ennis hill would become a brand ambassador . in february 2015 santander was announced as the new sponsor of transport for london s bicycle hire scheme branded as santander cycles . santander replaced barclays as title sponsor . 40 see also edit companies portal banking in the united kingdom list of banks in the united kingdom references edit a b c d annual report 2015 pdf . santander uk plc. march 2016 . ward map . london borough of camden . retrieved on 28 may 2014 . registered office details archive . santander uk . retrieved on 28 may 2014 . santander uk plc. registered office 2 triton square regent s place london nw1 3an . united kingdom christie sophie 21 august 2013 . how good is your bank s customer service . retrieved 26 january 2014 . how do you rate your bank account . 2 february 2014 . retrieved 16 july 2014 . financial research survey . 16 july 2014 . retrieved 16 july 2014 . uk financial firms downgraded by moody s rating agency . bbc news . 7 october 2011 . retrieved 23 march 2013 . q & a is santander uk a safe bank . bbc news . 9 june 2012 . retrieved 23 march 2013 . a & l shareholders approve takeover . bbc news . 16 september 2008 . retrieved 10 august 2009 . spanish bank giant to acquire b & b . bbc news . 28 september 2008 . retrieved 12 august 2009 . santander rebrands abbey and bradford & bingley . bbc news . 11 january 2010 . retrieved 16 november 2012 . alliance & leicester transfer to santander uk plc . santander uk plc. 2010 . retrieved 16 november 2012 . santander s decision to rename alliance & leicester disappointing this is business east midlands . 28 may 2009 website legal . santander uk plc. retrieved 10 december 2011 . santander to scrap abbey for intermediaries brand next wednesday . mortgage strategy . 10 july 2013 . retrieved 27 september 2013 . about us . santander foundation bubbles . 2010 . retrieved 10 december 2011 . jill treanor 25 march 2012 . santander to close bank branches to reduce overlap . the guardian . retrieved 16 november 2012 . david masters 2 july 2009 . santander rebrands commercial banking units . finance markets . retrieved 23 march 2013 . chris salih 9 december 2009 . ifg group to buy james hay for 35m . money marketing . santander pays 1.65 bn for 318 rbs branches . london the daily telegraph . 4 august 2010 . retrieved 4 august 2010 . rbs sale of 316 branches to santander collapses . bbc news . 12 october 2012 . retrieved 12 october 2012 . patrick collinson 26 february 2011 . is santander britain s worst bank . the guardian . retrieved 16 november 2012 . santander brings call centres back to uk . bbc news . 8 july 2011 . retrieved 17 december 2011 . santander stockpiles 538m to pay ppi claims as profits take a hit . this is money . 27 july 2011 . retrieved 23 march 2013 . steve slater 20 december 2012 . santander uk to sell uk store cards portfolio . reuters . retrieved 29 april 2013 . sav credit completes acquisition of santanders retail co brand credit card point of sale finance business . sav credit . 13 may 2013 . retrieved 28 may 2013 . weir keith 29 september 2014 . santander uk picks bostock