Historic European bank expanding into ‘state-of-the-art’ site in Edinburgh

Handelsbanken, which was founded in Sweden in 1871 and provides private banking services for business and personal customers, said its move to a new larger branch in the city’s west end followed strong demand for its “local relationship banking”. That expansion has seen the bank open a new “state-of-the-art” office on Torphichen Street after outgrowing its previous west end home of ten years at Haymarket Terrace.

Handelsbanken opened its first branch in Edinburgh in 2009. It has been a fully-licenced UK bank since 2018. The expansion move means that the west end branch will be on a similar scale to the bank’s east end premises in Waverley Gate, giving the financial services group a significant presence in the Scottish capital.

Staffing numbers at Handelsbanken Edinburgh West End have doubled in the past decade to stand at 14. With the new facility comprising 3,684 square feet of space it is significantly larger than the previous office.

West end branch manager Iain Henderson said: “Not only has our team of expert colleagues grown to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of our customers, we also wanted a bright, modern, environmentally-friendly space to reflect our ambitious sustainability targets. We wanted to take the time to find the right location, and we couldn’t be happier to be moving into 40 Torphichen St. It not only places us in the heart of the west end, it also means we have the capacity to grow further as our offering develops.”

Housing the bank’s corporate, private banking and wealth management colleagues, the expanded base will also act as a hub branch for the wider Scotland and Cumbria district, hosting training, leadership and development courses.

The design work for the new premises was completed by Simon Laird Associates, while Edinburgh firm Yule and Yule Interior Solutions completed the high-spec fit out. A formal opening event is due to take place next month.

Henderson said: “We are now able to offer a comfortable space for customers and colleagues alike, together with more meeting and social space enabling us to host more events, such as facilitating networking and presenting business and economic insights. Designed with Handelsbanken’s ‘Branch of the Future’ concept in mind, we hope this will provide a comfortable home for years to come.”

He added: “Edinburgh is a key part of the bank’s offering in Scotland given the city’s importance to the banking and financial services sectors. This is an exciting time for Handelsbanken in Edinburgh, and we are looking forward to settling into our new premises and continuing to deliver the highly-personalised, tailored banking services that our customers know us for.”

Since the mid 1990s, Handelsbanken has been expanding its banking operations into other Nordic countries, and also in the UK and the Netherlands. It now has some 150 branch offices in Britain. In October 2021, the bank announced that it would focus on its main markets and sell its operations in Finland and Denmark.