Hampden’s banking team has been reaching out to support existing clients around liquidity and the refinancing of loans, while experiencing an upswing in new clients who are migrating accounts and loans.

Clients connected to the hospitality, leisure and property development sectors are among those to be hardest hit by the pandemic to date.

Mark Prentice, head of banking for Hampden & Co in Scotland, said: “As our team switched to more remote working, we were on the phones across the client base to find out how they were doing and particularly people in those areas of industry that we know are really feeling the brunt in economic terms.

“What we’re also seeing is that people are having difficulties with the bigger banks and they’re turning to us to help them take over their loans.

“The type of activity we’re engaged in has ranged from supporting individuals relocating to Scotland from Hong Kong, taking multi-million-pound deals from start to finish since lockdown and refinancing loans secured over shares with new loans with alternative security - all areas where people are telling us they are having issues with the bigger banks.

“While COVID-19 has been challenging for us along with so many other businesses, we’re fortunate to have experienced bankers who have been through the good and the bad times before and have the knowledge and confidence to support each other and their clients at this time.

“With clients and advisors alike, we’ve found that people really appreciate being able to speak to someone with real experience to discuss challenges and options.”

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