GBB has secured an additional investment of £28m from Teesside Pension Fund as it intends to focus on providing property finance to underserved regions in the UK.

The Middlesbrough-based bank secured this investment in addition to the earlier pledges of £20m from the fund.

Teesside Pension Fund agreed to inject £28m once GBB gains its provisional banking licence that is expected later this year.

Although headquartered in Middlesbrough, GBB will maintain its Newcastle office.

Recently the bank appointed banking expert Sue Hayes as CEO. Its chairman Paul Rippon is the co-founder of two online banks, Starling and Monzo.

Hayes said: “Accessing finance still remains a challenge for many developers and it’s my ambition to make that a much easier, more straightforward process.

“We’re delighted the Teesside Pension Fund shares our vision and its fantastic ongoing support will help us through the regulatory journey of becoming a bank.”

Teesside Pension Fund chair David Coupe said: “We are proud to support GBB in their mission to support SME property developers in the regions and in turn help address the chronic shortage of housing.

“It’s been a long-term aspiration of the fund to invest in an attractive and well-controlled local opportunity and we’re pleased to have identified a robust, digital start-up such as GBB as a strong way to maximise returns for the Pension Fund’s beneficiaries.”

Following its launch, which is expected later this year, GBB intends to provide property development loans anywhere between £1m and £5m, with 90% of its lending targeted to support small- and medium-sized firms, construction firms and regional property developers.