Barclays Corporate Banking Team selects Smithfield Works as new base

Posted: 20 May 2024

A 20 -strong team of financiers from Barclays Corporate Banking has relocated to Smithfield Works in Hanley in a bid to provide an environment more befitting the business.

The Barclays Mid-Corporate Banking Team – ‘North Wales and The Shires’ division – has moved in to a 517 sq ft suite at Two Smithfield, situated within the diverse and thriving Smithfield development.

The Barclays team, which oversees clients across a diverse range of sectors, required a modern and secure location at the centre of its 6,000 square mile territory which spans Staffordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, The Black country and North Wales.

Representing Corporate customers, the Barclays Mid-Corporate Banking Team – ‘North Wales and The Shires’ division cited security as one of its non-negotiables for its office search, alongside a central location with accessible transport links and a professional atmosphere.

Tim Virgo, Head of Barclays Mid-Corporate Banking for North Wales and the Shires, said: “Smithfield Works has a real vibe about it, and we knew as soon as we walked in that it was the right place for us.

Having previously operated from Festival Park and Campbell Road we’re familiar with the area and are pleased to have somewhere to call ‘home’, especially one so modern that’ll enable us to stretch our wings and grow, whilst giving the team the flexibility it needs.

We have a very wide and diverse client base, so it was important for us to be connected to the businesses, communities and environments that we support, and Smithfield enables that. It’s a vibrant place with an entrepreneurial feel and there are a lot of different companies in there, too, so we’re looking forward to getting to know everyone. There’s a really good mix of Private and Public Sector teams in the business district and it feels like an environment that will really suit our needs”

Adele Simmons, community manager at Smithfield Works, added: “Barclays is our biggest-name signing to-date and we’re delighted to welcome the team on board.

“Having joined the Smithfield team earlier this year, I’ve enjoyed meeting so many different people from a wide-range of businesses already, and watching them all interact in their respective workspaces. We now welcome everyone from sole traders and creatives, through to global household names, proof that Smithfield really does have something for every kind of business.”

Smithfield was delivered in partnership between Genr8 Developments, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).