The Chief Minister Howard Quayle performed the official opening of Lloyds Bank International’s flagship offices and branch on Thursday.
He cut the ribbon on Villiers House in Victoria Street, Douglas, which now features a stylish, modern, branch on the ground floor.
The bank has taken over the former Royal Bank of Scotland building.
The Chief Minister was given a tour of the building during which he saw the upper floors that provide bright, open plan workspaces for more than 350 Lloyds Bank International and Black Horse Finance employees.
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Facilities include a boardroom with spectacular views of Douglas Bay, canteen, areas that allow for more relaxed meetings or collaboration, and a space specially designed and equipped for staff training and development.
Peter Reid, Lloyds Bank International’s head of operations and island director (I0M), thanked the Chief Minister and all the guests who attended, including personal and business customers, Alasdair Gardner, islands director, Lloyds Bank International, and Eduardo Stock da Cunha, chief executive of Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Minister described it as a ’momentous day for the bank, its employees, and the Isle of Man’. He described Lloyds’ long history on the island, during which time it has been a ’significant part of our island’s continued success’. He spoke about the help that Isle of Man Government had given which enabled the Villiers House project to be completed in good time despite the challenges of the past year.
Mr Reid said: ’Today represents the start of an exciting new era for Lloyds International in the Isle of Man, and the next step on our journey supporting local business and personal banking customers which began more than 120 years ago. As one of the island’s most iconic buildings, and our flagship branch, Villiers House symbolises our commitment to providing banking services to our personal banking customers, the 1,500 businesses and charities we support in the Isle of Man, plus private banking clients. None of that would be possible without our magnificent team here in the island - so the biggest thank you must go to all of my colleagues.’