Hampden & Co launches SIPP lending

Edinburgh-headquartered private bank Hampden & Co has announced that it has now started lending to SIPPs, a service unusual amongst Private Banks.

SIPPs can potentially offer greater flexibility for pensions, allowing investment in a far wider set of asset classes than typical employer schemes.

Purchasing commercial properties within a SIPP is still comparatively rare, but an area that Hampden & Co believes is set to grow due to benefits available to clients.

Graeme Hartop, chief executive officer, said: “For business owners who rent commercial premises, there can be significant upsides in purchasing the property instead. Making this purchase via their SIPP is an option many clients we see are looking to explore. For a start, rather than paying rent to a third party, the business is effectively replacing the rental payments with mortgage payments to their SIPP which then benefits from the ownership of the property.”

From Hartop’s perspective, this is another example of how Hampden & Co differentiate themselves from other private banks, adding: “Because we focus purely on banking, other professional advisors are happy to work with us as they know that our service can naturally complement theirs. Areas such as SIPP lending are probably viewed as too niche for larger banks, but by being able to service this segment of the market I think we add something genuinely helpful to professional advisors and their clients.”

The service is most likely to appeal to business owners who currently rent their commercial premises, whether that is office space, pubs or restaurants, or production facilities.

About Hampden&Co: Hampden&Co is an independent bank that opened in June 2015 to offer private banking facilities to High Net Worth clients, and their families. The bank is chaired by Ray Entwistle, the former CEO and Chairman of Adam & Co. The bank already has offices in London and Edinburgh.