Santander to close branches in CMK but offer banking facility at new head office Work Cafe

Santander bank has announced plans to close its two branches in Milton Keynes – opening a new Work Cafe at its new head office.

The existing Midsummer Place and Grafton Gate branches will merge in June 2023 and move to the Work Café branch at Santander’s new Head Office building close to the railway station.

The Milton Keynes Work Café will be the second in the UK, following the success of the Leeds Work Café, providing a new banking experience and acting as a vibrant hub for businesses and the local community.

As well as banking facilities, the Work Café will provide staff and visitors with free co-working desks and meeting rooms, fibre-optic WiFi, free customer car parking and a café selling sustainably sourced coffee.

Richard Owen, Head of Branches, said: “We remain committed to our branch network, but as branch usage by customers continues to fall, we have made the decision to consolidate our presence in a couple of areas where we have branches close together and to close a couple of branches in out-of-town locations where we know our customers are likely to have other alternatives close to home.

“We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find other ways to bank with us that best suit their needs.”

Mr Owen added: "Work Cafés have already been successful with our customers in Leeds and other countries around the world, so we're really looking forward to seeing the response in Milton Keynes, which is already a flourishing environment for local business collaboration."

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