HSBC UK opens doors to first UK wealth centre on St James’s Street

The HSBC UK Wealth Centre, which now occupies the seventh and eighth floors of Smithson Tower in St James’s, is now open to customers following a $5 million investment.

The premium venue is designed for Premier and private bank clients to meet with relationship managers on an invite-only basis and receive a stand-out, personalised wealth management service. The centre also boasts an open-plan event space on the eighth floor, which will be used for various private functions including educational sessions and seminars and networking events.

The centre is the latest in a range of investments HSBC UK has made into its offering to attract mass affluent customers, as it pursues its goal of becoming a top five wealth manager in the next few years.

Investing in spaces for in-person interactions on wealth

As well as opening the wealth centre, HSBC UK is investing into its branch network and is opening dedicated Premier lounges in 50 of its branches this year. The refurbishments have already completed across a number of branches including Belgravia, Muswell Hill, Leeds Park Row and Leicester.

To meet the needs of its customers, HSBC UK is already well underway with a national recruitment drive, growing its team of Premier relationship managers and related roles by 50% across the UK this year.

This comes alongside a flurry of recent enhancements and promotions, including the recent reduction of financial advice fee to 1% for Premier customers, the launch of a new Premier switching incentive and the reduction of the minimum asset threshold needed for customers to access its Premier Investment Management service.

Commenting on the opening, Christopher Dean, Managing Director of Premier, Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC UK, said:

“Our brand-new wealth centre is a significant anchor point in the UK; a prestigious location for us to both welcome our customers and open international corridors.

“We know that as people work through financial milestones, their wealth needs tend to become more sophisticated. While a stand-out digital offering remains essential, and we continue to invest in enhancing those capabilities, our customers really value face-to-face interactions and deeper relationships when it comes to managing their finances. The centre is a dedicated space for us to offer customers this valued face-time.

“Our data also shows that Premier customers value the branch network, which is why we’re also investing in creating premium spaces for our Premier customers in more than 50 branches, maximising opportunities for those in-person moments that matter.”

Replicating success in Asia to create a core advantage in the UK market

HSBC has wealth centres all around the world, which are drivers of growth across key localities. In the last year alone, HSBC has opened wealth centres in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.

With the opening of the UK Wealth Centre, HSBC UK aims to replicate the successes it has seen in Asia and boost the UK’s position as a destination for international investment. Asia’s rising affluence has created a deep pool of investment potential in recent years, and vastly expanded the opportunities for those financial institutions that as a strong regional presence, such as HSBC.

HSBC research shows that globally, portfolio diversification for affluent people is on the rise, and UK is amongst the top three destinations that affluent people across the world want to invest¹.

By facilitating global connectivity through an extensive international network, the wealth centres across the globe particularly appeal to internationally minded customers, who can efficiently manage liquidity, currency transactions, and asset allocation across regions with ease.

Christopher Dean added: “Our global research shows that 1 in 3 affluent investors in our major international wealth centres invest additionally outside of their home market, including into the UK².
We also know² that the world’s wealthiest investors are becoming more mobile as they seek out global opportunities for their assets and businesses, with the UK a pivotal wealth hub.
“By broadening our network of wealth centres across the globe, we want to leverage international connectivity between our key markets globally and make it as easy as possible for customers to invest across different markets, while helping them manage their money across multiple geographies.”

Please direct any media enquiries to:

Leila Taleb, HSBC UK - leila.taleb@hsbc.com