Coutts isn’t just any old bank, its chief executive, Peter Flavel, has been keen to tell anyone who asks.
If you’re rich enough to have an account – customers need to hold at least £3m in savings or borrow or invest at least £1m – the bank promises to provide not just a dedicated bank manager but also a concierge, or “lifestyle manager”, to help you “start enjoying life the way you want it and turn good experiences into unforgettable, great ones”.
“If you need tickets, they can probably source them,” Flavel has said. “If you have lost something, we will try pretty hard to find it, and if you need specialist advice they know the best in the business.”
One customer, the property developer Ed Clare, used the concierge service to secure six tickets for a sold-out Adele concert and for help organising a four-day stag party in Barcelona. “I use them for everything,” he told the FT.
Coutts, which counts the rapper Stormzy and the Harry Potter star Emma Watson among its clients, has boasted that over the years it has arranged a wedding on Juliet’s balcony in Verona, sourced an elephant for another wedding reception, and arranged for a client’s daughter to play the organ in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris.
“Something to be clear about is Coutts is not a regular bank,” says Edwin Smith, the editor-in-chief of Spear’s wealth management magazine. “It’s a private bank, trying to cater to the ultra-wealthy, and there’s a lot of competition for their money.”
“People talk to us about private banks that build a team around them and their family,” Smith says. “It is not unusual to have a high net worth individual come to the UK, open an account with a private bank, and their banker will help secure them expertise across other elements of their life. They will find them a property agent to help find a house, another to help with private schools.”
Smith says elephants and sold-out gig tickets are “obviously” appealing to some clients, but says the real draws are the exclusive investment opportunities not available via high street banks, special events and networking opportunities.
“The big thing is networking, particularly internationally,” Smith says. “They [customers] like that clients are brought together to share insight and experience.”
Coutts – which has been the bank of choice for every member of the royal family since George IV – brings in big names to ensure its events (often held on its private roof garden on the Strand) attract the interest of enough clients. Recent speakers have included the broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
In an increasingly competitive market, Coutts is not alone in providing exclusive parties and events. Weatherbys, a private bank that traces its history back to 1770 (which makes it a relatively new player compared with Coutts, which was established in 1692), runs clay pigeon shooting trips and recently held an exclusive champagne preview of the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta’s pre-spring 2023 collection.
C Hoare & Co – the UK’s oldest privately owned bank (1672) which served Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen and Lord Byron – also hosts exclusive events and talks.
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“You don’t want people who’ll just treat it as a nice sinecure,” Alexander Hoare, who was chief executive of the family business from 2001-09, said last year. “You want people who’ll own it.”
Citi, the US investment bank, offers its private banking clients a holiday to “appreciate the rich history and cultural heritage of Florence”. Entitled “Jewel of the Renaissance”, the three-day trip features talks by specialists in the arts while admiring the Italian city’s spectacular palazzos.
It promises “unique dining and wine tasting experiences with members of other prominent families from around the world”.
Citi also offers a “Davos of Family Offices” networking party, and other events with guests including the Queen of Jordan, the US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, the BlackRock president Robert Kapito and Sophia – a “social humanoid robot”.
The Dubai-based Emirates NBD bank invites its private banking clients to “enjoy a relaxing day with access to top golf courses across the UAE”.