Santander reports huge 266% profit increase as it prepares its new headquarters building in Milton Keynes

Profits at high street bank Santander soared 266% to £1.86 billion last year, despite the impact of the Covid pandemic.

The company, which shut 111 branches last year due to the shift to digital banking, employs more than 3,000 people in Milton Keynes.

It is currently having a new £150m corporate headquarters built at a former car park in CMK.

The eight-storey Digital Hub is on land bound by Elder Gate, Midsummer Boulevard, Grafton Gate and Silbury Boulevard adjacent to Station Square.

Billed as a "world class" workplace which will even boast a rooftop running track, it will consolidate Santander’s offices within Milton Keynes to create a new campus for 6,000 employees.

But the pandemic has meant more Santander staff are working from home and this arrangement is likely to continue for many.

Nathan Bostock, Santander UK CEO, said: “The pandemic has accelerated the existing trend towards greater flexible working, and our colleagues have told us this has brought significant benefits for many of them. At the same time, physical spaces remain very important and our sites around the UK will provide our colleagues with first-class facilities fit for the future."

He added: “We are investing £150m in our state-of-the-art new campus in Milton Keynes, which will become our new headquarters.

"Milton Keynes is one of the UK’s leading technology centres and with a number of innovative education and training providers on our doorstep, we believe it will provide us with excellent future access to talent and opportunities for colleagues to innovate and develop their skills.”

Mr Bostock praised his Santander staff and thanked them.

"Thanks to the hard work of our staff across the UK, we have delivered another strong financial performance in a changeable and competitive environment.

"We have further cemented our position as the UK’s third largest mortgage lender, helping customers with £7.5bn of net mortgage lending, and attracted 19,000 new current account customers through our switcher campaign. At the same time, we have grown income, realised the savings from our investment programme and continued to simplify our operations.

“Our strategy means we are in good shape thanks to our prudent approach to risk, strong capital and resilient balance sheet and we are well placed to continue growing as the UK economy recovers."