Adam and Company
 | |
| Brand name | |
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK |
| Products | Financial Services |
Number of employees | c 120 |
| Parent | Royal Bank of Scotland |
| Website |
www |
Adam and Company is a subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland catering for the needs of private bank customers based in the United Kingdom. It offers a range of private banking services including discretionary investment management and financial planning services to high net worth clients in the UK.
The bank was founded in Edinburgh in 1983 by a group of Scottish business people. Edinburgh is often referred as the birthplace of Scottish Enlightenment, and one of the leading lights of that era, Adam Smith, published ‘An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations’ in 1776 which revolutionised economic theory. Adam & Company was named after this leading figure of the time.
The bank's principal and registered company address is 25 Saint Andrew Square in Edinburgh and they have three further offices.
History
The bank was founded in 1983, opening its first branch in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, Scotland on 29 May 1984. In 1986, Adam and Company acquired London-based Continental Trust (London) Limited; and later established an international arm in Guernsey. Branches in Glasgow, Manchester and Aberdeen were also opened between 1987 and 2005.
In 1993, following substantial foreign-exchange related losses, Adam and Company was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland who provided the capital needed to rebuild the Bank's weakened balance sheet. After the Royal Bank of Scotland acquired NatWest in 2000, restructuring of the group saw Adam and Company placed in the Bank's Wealth Management Services Division, alongside rival Coutts, the largest private bank in the UK.
In 2002, Adam and Company acquired Stewart Ivory Wealth Management.
During the years until 2012, Adam & Company established a place as a major force in niche private banking and became the bank of choice for the elite of industry, politics and family wealth in Scotland. In 2012, Adam & Company became the first UK bank to implement the Avaloq investment and banking platform which paved the way for integration with Coutts and a range of efficiency savings leading to job losses for almost half of the workforce.
In late 2011 the company moved its registered office to a newly refurbished Georgian townhouse at 25 Saint Andrew Square where it remains today. The facility is said to enjoy an enviable art collection, fine furnishings and exclusive private dining facilities where client entertaining takes place.
In 2014 and as part of a wider and more radical shake-up to the divisional structure of parent RBS, Adam & Company, under the leadership of RBS Group Exec Graham Storrie, was made a subsidiary of Coutts and consolidated into the Commercial and Private Banking division of RBS, under divisional CEO Alison Rose.
In September 2016, Adam's parent the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc announced that the personal and business activities of RBS in Scotland would be merged with the balance sheet of Adam & Company, increasing its size by around 50 times and effectively removing Adam's legal status as a standalone bank. RBS announced its intention to keep the brand name for use with private banking clients.
Office locations
Adam and Company has four offices in Edinburgh (HO), Glasgow, Aberdeen and London. The Adam International business in Guernsey closed its doors in 2012. An office in Manchester closed in 2014 after some 15 years of operations.
See also
There are three other private banking brands within the Royal Bank of Scotland Group
Both Child & Co and Drummonds ceased operating as banks soon after acquisition by RBS but remain as brands operating on the main PRA licence of RBS where customers enjoy privileged services such as relationship management and discounts on standard retail banking products but where FSCS protection for deposits and other regulatory matters are not distinct from those relating to high street banking customers of RBS.