Close Brothers

At Close Brothers we are proud to celebrate World Mental Health Day and this year’s theme of “It is time to prioritise mental health in the workplace”. This morning our Mental Wellbeing Network, alongside representatives from Aviva, hosted a webinar for colleagues on Aviva Digicare+ Workplace. Aviva Digicare+ Workplace is a comprehensive tool designed to support mental and physical wellbeing in the workplace.  The Aviva team provided colleagues with an overview of what the platform offers and a demonstration on how to use it. “This year, World Mental Health Day is focusing on mental health in the workplace. The Mental Wellbeing Network is shining a light on the importance of recognising and protecting each other from the risks of stress and burnout. Every level of the business is engaged and committed to creating a safe environment for colleagues to be open about their mental wellbeing.” Mandy Edgar Mental Wellbeing Network Chair #CloseBrothers #WorldMentalHealthDay #WMHD2024 #MentalWellbeing

At the end of September, two of our ASPIRE trainees graduated from their second year on the programme and secured permanent roles within Close Brothers. A further three ASPIRE trainees will be moving into their second year. Our ASPIRE programme provides school leavers not going to university with the opportunity to start their careers in a professional, challenging, and fast paced business on a two-year rotational scheme, with placements in two business areas within our Banking division. “The ASPIRE programme has offered me an excellent opportunity to develop my professional knowledge and skills through real-world, practical application across multiple teams and divisions of Close Brothers. Within the structured two-year programme, I rotated across teams in Manchester and London, in the Asset Finance and Treasury businesses, respectively. Support and flexibility are given throughout the programme, with the benefit of completing professional qualifications to supplement the ongoing practical learning. Having recently finished the programme, I have moved into a full-time analyst role within Treasury.” Will Potter, ASPIRE Graduate, Junior HLQA Analyst Congratulations to our graduates moving into their permanent roles and good luck to our ASPIRE trainees moving into their final year of the programme. Let’s look back at when we caught up with two of our previous ASPIRE trainees earlier this year. #CloseBrothers #ASPIRE #SchoolLeavers

Close Brothers is proud to celebrate Black History Month 2024. This year’s theme of “Reclaiming Narratives” is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the untold stories, the unsung heroes and the everyday individuals who have made an indelible impact on black communities. Every week throughout October our Cultural Heritage Network will share with colleagues blog posts that acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of Black British People who have influenced history. The Network will also host a fireside chat and panel discussion with a guest speaker that colleagues are encouraged to join. We look forward to joining our Cultural Heritage Network as we celebrate Black History Month 2024. #CloseBrothers #CulturalHeritage #ReclaimingNarratives #DiversityAndInclusion

We are delighted to announce Close Brothers won the Culture and Inclusion Award at last night’s Collaboration Network Awards. The Culture and Inclusion Award celebrates the organisation that has delivered the best culture and inclusion initiative, building a workplace that ensures better outcomes for customers and/or colleagues through better conditions of work, engagement, acceptance, understanding, empowerment, and involvement. “We are delighted to have won the Culture and Inclusion Award for the design process of our three-year Group Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. We engaged our Employee Inclusion Networks from the start, as well as stakeholders from across key functions and business leadership teams. Inclusion is everyone’s responsibility, and we are looking forward to the future as we continue to implement our commitments. We would like to say thank you to our Employee Inclusion Networks for the nomination for the award and our fantastic partnership.” Plamena Solakova, HR Business Partner – Inclusion and Functions The awards ceremony, held at the Royal Leonardo Hotel Tower Bridge, celebrates the achievements and successes of organisations in supporting customers and colleagues and how they are approaching regulatory compliance. Congratulations to all award winners and finalists. #CloseBrothers #DiversityAndInclusion #Culture

We are proud to play our part in helping small businesses invest in their future, and pass important skills onto the next generation through our Close Brothers SME Apprentice Programme. We are proud to partner with The University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre. Good luck to our 15 apprentices entering their second year of training.  #CloseBrothers #Apprenticeships #SkillsForLife #Engineering

National Inclusion Week at Close Brothers saw colleagues come together to engage, learn and celebrate through a host of activities and events. On Thursday, we hosted our celebration finale at our Crown Place office. Colleagues brought along their favourite dish or submitted their favourite song from their culture, in a celebration of the diversity of cultures represented here at Close Brothers. To close the week, we shared the stories of colleagues across the business who have made a positive impact this year through advocating for policy changes, fundraising and supporting others. We also shared psychological safety training recordings with all colleagues, and highlighted some of our suppliers and partners who focus on Environmental, Social and Governance and responsible business. “National Inclusion Week is a great reminder that conversations about diversity and inclusion in the workplace are important, but action is even more so. Impact truly does matter and I’m grateful to our Inclusion Networks, business leaders and all colleagues for their engagement in our activities and campaigns this week. Each day has been dedicated to one of our strategic priorities in our new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, and with commitment, consistency, and teamwork we hope to continue to inspire our people and to maintain our inclusive culture.” Plamena Solakova, HR Business Partner – Inclusion and Functions Thank you to all our Employee Inclusion Networks, Working Groups and Forums, and to all colleagues for participating in our National Inclusion Week activities, and celebrating diversity and inclusion at Close Brothers. #CloseBrothers #DiversityAndInclusion #NationalInclusionWeek #ImpactMatters

Our celebrations for National Inclusion Week are underway. On Monday we held our virtual training session on “Developing inclusive colleagues” to learn more about allyship and practical actions to advance diversity and inclusion at Close Brothers. On Tuesday, we held our annual Network Fair at our Crown Place office. Colleagues were invited to join representatives of our group-wide Diversity and Inclusion Employee Networks and Working Groups to find out how our networks have moved the dial this year and how colleagues can support their work. Yesterday, we announced the winners of our first ever group-wide Diversity and Inclusion Awards. These awards recognise colleagues and teams who actively promote diversity and inclusion in our organisation. A huge congratulations to our winners: ·        Rising Star Award – Tyrese Johnson and Isabella Bond ·        Role Model Award – Marc Barnard-Naulls ·        Changemaker Award – Jon Dytor ·        Initiative of the year – Professional Women of Colour Working Group ·        Team of the year – MenoForum Working Group With further events scheduled throughout the week, we look forward to continuing to engage, learn and celebrate together during National Inclusion Week. #CloseBrothers #DiversityAndInclusion #NationalInclusionWeek #ImpactMatters

Today marks the start of National Inclusion Week 2024, a time dedicated to celebrating inclusion and taking action to create and maintain an inclusive and psychologically safe workplace. This year’s theme is #ImpactMatters and we have a host of activities and events planned for colleagues to engage with, learn and celebrate together during this week. These include our Network fair, Diversity and Inclusion awards, a webinar, training and insight sessions, and our Diversity and Inclusion celebration finale. We look forward to celebrating the week with colleagues alongside our Diversity and Inclusion teams, networks and working groups. #CloseBrothers #NationalInclusionWeek #DiversityAndInclusion 

On Tuesday, to mark South Asian Heritage Month, celebrated in August, and its theme “Free to be Me”, our Professional Woman of Colour Working Group hosted a watch party for the film Bend It Like Beckham at our Crown Place office. “The film Bend it Like Beckham was chosen as we feel it accurately portrays the experience of growing up with dual (or more) heritage and trying to pursue your dreams whilst also still trying to retain who you are and connections to your community. When the film was released, it was amongst one of the first times we saw a woman of colour take the lead in a film and play a character of the same faith and background as the actress. I know this sent a positive message to all of us growing up. We hope the watch party provided a space for all of us to come together and appreciate how much more inclusive our society is becoming.” Suman Dann, Professional Women of Colour Working Group Chair #CloseBrothers #DiversityAndInclusion #ProfessionalWomenOfColour #SouthAsianHeritageMonth

This morning, we released our Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 July 2024. Click here to read the latest update on our financial performance. https://lnkd.in/e-qkPrhd #CloseBrothers #FinancialResults #YearEndResults