A MOBILE bank is pushing ahead with £100m plans to cement its position as a digital pioneer, The Northern Echo can confirm.

Atom Bank has confirmed it will continue efforts to raise fresh funding to strengthen its position as the UK’s first appbased lender.

The Northern Echo can also reveal the company, based in Aykley Heads, on the outskirts of Durham City, is now supporting about 300 jobs and has expanded into the Rivergreen Centre to increase operations.

Speaking last night, Edward Twiddy, Atom’s chief innovations officer, said the business, which only got a licence to trade last year, was growing at pace, announcing its business loan venture has received more than 100 applications and its savings account continues to garner customers.

The Northern Echo also understands its business loan division has made its first decisions on borrowing totalling about £40m.

Mr Twiddy, who confirmed the firm’s funding target was in the region of £100m, said: “It was always our intention that we would raise more money. We will do that firstly with our existing investors and we’ll then go out and speak to new ones.”

The business, which has no plans to open high street branches, is seen as a crucial part of the banking sector’s future, with its position as a challenger business creating fresh competition for the familiar big four of Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.

It aims to tempt business customers and savers away from traditional lenders through a digital-only focus on current accounts, mortgages and business accounts, with a retail mortgage venture due to start in weeks.

To safeguard such endeavours, the firm, awarded a licence by the Bank of England last year, has continued to create jobs.

Billing itself as the UK’s first digital-only bank, it offers services via apps for customers’ mobile phones, tablets and laptops.

“We offer something different”, said Mr Twiddy, who described the experience of building the bank as “exhilarating and tiring”.

“We have a quick turnaround on decisions and we hope people find there is something with us that serves them better.

“We are based in Northumbria House, which is where we started from, but we have taken quite a lot of space at the Rivergreen Centre too.

“We’ve got about 230 people on our books but we also have 40 contractors and people from third parties.”

Atom’s long-term plan is to move from its current bases into purpose-built offices in the city.

Last year, Spanish bank BBVA took a 29.5 per cent stake in Atom, founded by former Metro Bank chairman Anthony Thomas and First Direct chief executive Mark Mullen, to provide capital for its growth.

It has also been supported by investors Woodford Investment Management LLP, Toscafund Asset Management LLP, Marathon Asset Management LLP and Polar Capital.