A guide to Gatehouse Bank

Even though they’ve been around since 2008, you may not have heard that much about Gatehouse Bank to date. But that looks set to change as they’re a fast growing bank that’s increasingly popping up on our radar.

But what does Gatehouse Bank offer? Is your money safe with them? And are they really any good? The Smart Money People guide to Gatehouse Bank will answer all these questions and a few more.

Firstly, who are Gatehouse Bank?

Gatehouse Bank is a bank based in central London, Mayfair to be precise. Founded in 2008, Gatehouse Bank used to operate savings accounts under the Milestone Savings brand, although at the time of writing, it appears that Gatehouse Bank is phasing out this brand.

Gatehouse Bank refers to itself as a challenger bank. Now that doesn’t mean that it’s attempting to compete with the likes of Monzo and Starling (it doesn’t offer current accounts or claim to be a digital innovator), but rather its peer group includes the likes of Hampshire Trust Bank, Aldermore, Paragon Bank and even Kent Reliance.

You may have seen Gatehouse Bank referred to as offering Shariah-compliant or Islamic products. If you’d like to find out more about what this really means, you can read our guide here.

What products does Gatehouse Bank offer?

Gatehouse Bank offers range of savings products for UK consumers and businesses. It uses these deposits to fund a range of home finance (mortgage) products for consumers and businesses and mortgage products for UK customers. Gatehouse Bank has gained acclaim for its Private Rented Sector (PRS) scheme which is the first large scale PRS portfolios funding new homes for rent.

Is Gatehouse Bank safe?

Gatehouse Bank is regulated by the UK’s financial services regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and all retail savings deposits are covered under the FSCS, which means that up to £85,000 of your savings are protected in the event that Gatehouse Bank becomes insolvent. Unlike some ‘investment’ firms masquerading as ‘safe’ saving accounts, Gatehouse Bank is a legitimate alternative to better known high street brands.

Customer reviews about Gatehouse Bank:

While there’s not a lot of Gatehouse Bank reviews on the internet, what has been written isn’t very good, with customers consistently talking about ‘delays’ and ‘repetitive processes’.

As with all mortgage providers, Gatehouse Bank uses mortgage brokers to help drive volume. Every 6 months our Mortgage Lender Benchmark asks brokers what they think about the lenders they do business with. When it comes to Gatehouse Bank, the feedback we’ve received from brokers appear to be in sync with the customer reviews, with brokers agreeing that turnaround times can be slow. One broker said: “(it) took nearly 12 weeks to underwrite a case, then declined at the very end on extremely dubious reasoning. Ended up costing the client the new build property and his deposit. BDM (business development manager) tried very hard to get it overturned, but was ultimately unsuccessful.”

Our take

In recent years, UK savers have become increasingly used to seeing new names topping best buy tables, and Gatehouse Bank is one bank to look out for.

It’s clear that this challenger bank is growing fast, extending its product portfolio, growing its deposit based, and doing some interesting things. But as it continues to scale-up and compete in an increasingly competitive market, sometimes customers and mortgage brokers are feeling the impact of slow service.

If you’re a customer of Gatehouse Bank, you too can share your review here.