In its half year results for the six months to 31st January 2026, the group laid out its plan to cut its workforce by almost one-quarter.

It has been reported that reductions are expected to take place across the wider bank rather than in its property lending division.

The group aims to deliver around £25m of annualised cost savings in the 2026 financial year as part of a broader group-wide cost reduction programme.

The lender also revealed that it is ramping up automation and AI developments.

As outlined in the group’s results, Close Brothers is targeting loan book growth of between 5-10% per annum through the cycle across each of its divisions, including property.

The bank said it planned to grow its market position in its property division, particularly through PBSA and BTR deals.

To support the expansion of BTR and PBSA, Close Brothers Property Finance established a structured finance team in early 2025, led by managing director Chiara Caldwell, with Manu Dinamani joining as director in March 2025.

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The property finance business has made recent senior hires to support regional growth including Shon Pallickaleth as business development director in February, as well as Stuart Heslop, who joined last month as a consultant to support the Scotland-based team.

Close Brothers Group has set aside £300m to cover costs following the publication of the FCA’s consultation paper on 7th October 2025 on a proposed industry-wide redress scheme regarding motor finance commissions.

A report from independent investigative research group Viceroy Research alleged that this provision would need to at least double to between £572m and £1.07bn.

In an official statement, Close Brothers Group announced that it “strongly disagrees with the report”, noting that its provisioning approach “is in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards and follows a robust governance process”.

Mike Morgan, chief executive at Close Brothers Group, commented on the decision to cut 600 jobs: “While the impact on affected colleagues is regrettable, these actions are necessary to structurally lower our cost base, while increasing our agility and ability to serve our customers with the speed, flexibility and reliability that they have come to expect.

“These actions represent an important step in the evolution of our operating model to support future scalability, improving our ability to deliver operating leverage and achieve further savings in years to come.

“The group remains well positioned, underpinned by a resilient balance sheet and clear strategic priorities.”