Brief

Close Brothers targets £60m annual savings as AI rollout accelerates

The UK banking group said it will strip out more than £60m in annual costs for 2026‑27, after cutting £36m in the year to July 31 and posting a pre‑tax loss of £60.3m.

By Felo News Desk · Published Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:02:16 GMT

Close Brothers announced plans to remove more than £60 million from its annual cost base for the 2026‑27 year, a move that doubles the savings achieved in the year to July 31. The banking group said it cut annual costs by around £36 million in that period, well above the £25 million target set in March when it announced a 25 % workforce reduction and office network trimming.

In its full‑year results, the group said it now expects to deliver more than £60 million of annual savings in 2026‑27 as outsourcing and offshore work abroad, along with further office network cuts, pay off. It added that it is “well into planning for the next stage of restructuring activity”, with a focus on consolidating support functions under a single central division and accelerating the rollout of artificial intelligence.

Close Brothers stressed it has no plans to cut more jobs beyond the 600 already announced, despite the near‑doubling of annual cost cutting. It reported pre‑tax operating losses of £60.3 million for the year to July 31, hit by an additional £164.7 million in provisions for the car finance redress scheme, bringing total losses to about £320 million. Restructuring costs, including redundancies, also kept the group in the red. The loss was half of the £122.4 million pre‑tax loss reported in 2024‑25. The Financial Conduct Authority had paused plans earlier this year, but the group said it was moving forward with its restructuring agenda.

Key facts

Close Brothers plans to cut more than £60m in annual costs for 2026‑27 (standard.co.uk)
It cut £36m in annual costs in the year to July 31 (standard.co.uk)
Pre‑tax operating loss of £60.3m for year to July 31 (standard.co.uk)
No further job cuts beyond the 600 already announced (standard.co.uk)
Losses halved from £122.4m pre‑tax loss in 2024‑25 (standard.co.uk)