New role: Lord Adair Turner (pictured) is Oaknorth’s new chairman
SoftBank-backed lender Oaknorth has named the former boss of the UK’s financial regulator Lord Adair Turner as chairman.
Turner, who ran the Financial Services Authority during the financial crisis in 2008, replaces Cyrus Ardalan, who steps down after eight years.
Since launching in 2015, Oaknorth has become one of the UK’s most valuable fintechs, lending £10billion to entrepreneurs and businesses.
It became profitable after just a year and was valued at £2.2billion in a funding round led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank’s Vision Fund in 2019.
Turner was a senior independent director until he left in 2017.
Rishi Khosla, chief executive, said his appointment was an ‘exciting milestone’ for the company, which he has built alongside Joel Perlman. ‘His expertise will be invaluable,’ he said.
Turner said: ‘I’ve been following Oaknorth’s impressive growth story since I first met Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman back in 2014 and I am excited by the opportunity to support its continued success.’
It comes as Oaknorth considers an initial public offering.
The bank, which typically lends between £500,000 and £25million to businesses and property developers in the UK, posted profits of £152million in 2022, up from £134.5million the previous year.
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