Brown Shipley

Brown Shipley is a UK private bank that deals with clients through a named advisor and team rather than a branch counter. It lends through personal loans and flexible overdrafts, holds deposits, and provides investment and pension-related services, with day-to-day access through an online service called My Brown Shipley¹.

Its consumer credit information describes personal loans agreed either on a repayment basis, where the loan is paid back in instalments, or on an interest-only basis, where you pay interest during the term and repay the capital at the end, typically for a fixed term of up to 5 years¹. Overdrafts are offered as flexible facilities where you borrow only what you need at the time and are charged interest only when you use it¹.

This page covers what Brown Shipley offers across its product types, who can borrow and how affordability is judged, how to bank with it and contact your advisor, how to spot fake contact, how to complain, and how money held with it is protected.

What Brown Shipley offers

Brown Shipley's consumer-facing products fall into a small number of categories. It lends through personal loans and overdrafts, it holds deposits, and it provides investment and pension-related services through its funds and advisory business. The firm's consumer credit information sets out the lending side: personal loans, flexible overdraft facilities, and the terms attached to each¹.

On the investing side, the FCA Register lists Brown Shipley Funds among the firm's current trading names, alongside QFS and Brown Shipley itself⁴. The firm's complaints page refers to the Brown Shipley Multi Asset Funds, which have a separate Authorised Corporate Director³. That matters to a reader because a complaint about those funds starts somewhere other than Brown Shipley, which is covered below.

For a wider view of the product types involved, the site's guides to loans, current accounts, savings and investing explain how each works in the UK market generally. Brown Shipley does not publish its rates and charges on this page; its own site carries today's figures, and any quotation for a loan is available on request¹.

Personal loans: repayment or interest-only

Brown Shipley offers personal loans on two bases. Under a repayment loan, the loan is paid back in instalments over the term. Under an interest-only loan, you pay the interest during the term and repay the capital at the end in one go¹. The firm's consumer credit information says loans are typically for a fixed term of up to 5 years¹.

The distinction matters more than it first appears. With an interest-only arrangement, the monthly cost is lower because you are not paying down the capital, but the full amount borrowed still has to be found at the end of the term. The Financial Ombudsman Service describes the same structure in mortgages: with an interest-only mortgage, monthly repayments just cover the interest on the mortgage⁶. The same logic applies to any interest-only borrowing, and it is the reason a repayment plan for the capital matters as much as the monthly payment.

Brown Shipley's consumer credit information states that written quotations are available upon request, and that borrowers have statutory rights of cancellation and withdrawal¹. For how personal loans work across the market, including how interest is calculated and what a lender must tell you, see the site's guide to loans.

Flexible overdrafts are normally repayable on demand

Brown Shipley describes its overdrafts as flexible facilities where you borrow only what you need at the time and are charged interest only when you use it¹. The firm's consumer credit information adds a condition that applies to every overdraft in the UK: overdrafts are normally repayable on demand¹.

That phrase carries real weight. Independent debt guidance is blunt about it: an overdraft is repayable on demand, so a bank can ask you to pay the whole amount back in one go if it chooses⁷. The same guidance notes that because an overdraft is repayable on demand, money in the account would no longer be safe if the bank called it in⁸. In practice most overdrafts run for years without being recalled, but the legal position is that the money can be demanded at any time.

For a reader, the practical point is that an overdraft is not a fixed-term loan. It has no agreed end date and no instalment schedule, and the balance can be called in. If you are relying on an overdraft as long-term borrowing, that is a risk worth understanding before you use it. The site's guide to current accounts explains how overdrafts and their charges work across UK banks.

Who can borrow and how affordability is assessed

Brown Shipley's consumer credit information states that the bank offers personal loans to customers aged 18 and above¹. It also says the bank will conduct a reasonable assessment of affordability based on your income, expenses and overall financial standing¹.

That assessment is the gate to any borrowing. The firm looks at what you earn, what you spend and your wider financial position, not just whether you have missed payments before. Independent guidance on borrowing makes the same point in a different context: all potential borrowing is subject to affordability checks and credit status, and what a lender will offer depends on regular commitments, pay type, self-employment, deposit, age, borrowing beyond retirement date and the lender's own criteria⁹.

Where a loan is taken out jointly, most banks look at both partners' debt and income levels together¹⁰. That is worth knowing if you are applying alongside someone else, because one person's commitments can affect what the household is offered.

If you want to understand what lenders see when they assess you, the site's guide to credit scores and credit reports explains what appears on a credit file and how it is used. For borrowing generally, see loans.

Security, written quotations and your right to cancel

Brown Shipley's consumer credit information states that security may be required for lending¹. Where a loan is secured, the lender has a claim on an asset if the borrowing is not repaid, which is a materially different position from an unsecured loan.

The same document sets out two protections for borrowers. Written quotations are available upon request, so you can ask for the figures in writing before committing¹. And borrowers have statutory rights of cancellation and withdrawal¹. Those rights are set by the rules rather than by the firm, and their length depends on the product. Under the cancellation rules, the right to cancel a cash deposit ISA contract runs for 14 calendar days, while life and pensions contracts, including a personal pension or a pension transfer, carry a 30 calendar day period¹¹. For a unit bought when opening or transferring a wrapper or pension wrapper, the 14 calendar day right applies to the entire arrangement¹¹.

Those rights do not arise in every case. The rules say they arise only following a personal recommendation or ready-made suggestion of the contract, by the firm or any other person¹¹. Where a subscription contract is involved, consumer law gives a right to cancel where the trader breaches the rules on key pre-contract information, reminder notices or arrangements to end the contract¹².

Banking with Brown Shipley and contacting your client advisor

Brown Shipley deals with clients through a named client advisor and team, supported by the My Brown Shipley online service.

The firm publishes support hours of Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm². That is the window given for reaching the firm about security matters. If you have a client advisor, they are the first point of contact for account queries, and the firm's complaints team can be reached separately, as set out below.

The firm's online security guidance includes practical steps for anyone using the service:

• Log out after each use of My Brown Shipley²
• Change your password regularly, using strong passwords that are unique and complex²
• Enable two-factor authentication on your accounts where it is available, which adds an extra layer of protection²

Passwords can be changed through the My Brown Shipley homepage². For how current accounts and online banking work across UK providers, see the site's guide to current accounts.

Spotting fake Brown Shipley websites and scam contact

Brown Shipley's own security page warns that scams are increasingly prevalent and may involve individuals impersonating Brown Shipley representatives to deceive clients into transferring funds². The firm's instruction if you have concerns or suspect fraudulent activity involving the Brown Shipley name is to contact your usual client advisor without delay².

The firm is clear about what it will never do:

Suspicious emails or text messages asking for your bank details can be reported to Report Fraud online or by phone on 0300 123 2040¹³. Investment scams can be reported the same way¹⁴.

If you have lost money to a scam, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme publishes guidance on what to do if you are a victim¹⁰. The site's guide to scams and fraud covers the common types and how to report them.

How to complain to Brown Shipley

Brown Shipley's complaints page sets out how to raise a complaint. You can write to Robert Kitchen at Brown Shipley, No. 1 Spinningfields, 1 Hardman Square, Manchester, M3 3EB; telephone 0161 214 6608; or email the Business Assurance team³.

The firm publishes timescales for handling complaints:

Not every complaint follows the same route. Complaints about the Brown Shipley Multi Asset Funds should go in the first instance to the funds' Authorised Corporate Director³. Complaints relating to SSAS administration are likely to come under the auspices of the Pensions Ombudsman Service³. Data protection complaints may fall under the jurisdiction of the Information Commissioner's Office³. Unregulated complaints, for example trusts over £1m, are not bound by regulatory timescales and are likely to fall outside the Financial Ombudsman Service's scope to investigate³.

For how complaints work across financial firms generally, see the site's guide to consumer protection.

When the Financial Ombudsman, Pensions Ombudsman or ICO can help

If a complaint is not resolved, the Financial Ombudsman Service may be able to take it on. Brown Shipley's complaints page says you can request a review from the Financial Ombudsman Service if the complaint is unresolved within eight weeks, or 15 working days for payment service complaints, or if you are unhappy with the final response³. The firm's consumer credit information states that if you are not satisfied with its services, you may be entitled to refer a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹.

The ombudsman's remit is wider than individuals. It can also help small businesses, charities, trusts, and someone who has guaranteed a loan to a business they are involved in¹⁵. On pensions, it can look at workplace pension, personal pension or annuity complaints where the business is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority¹⁶. Where investments were unsuitable and a pension pot is smaller as a result, the ombudsman will usually tell the adviser or provider to make up the difference¹⁷. It can also order compensation for financial loss, for distress or inconvenience, and changes to how a business acts in future¹⁸.

The Pensions Ombudsman handles pension complaints, but its own guidance says complaints that relate only to data protection are better dealt with by the Information Commissioner's Office¹⁹. The Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman may advise contacting the Independent Case Examiner and will provide contact details²⁰.

The Information Commissioner's Office deals with data protection complaints, including your right to challenge the accuracy of personal data held about you and ask for it to be corrected or deleted²¹. It cannot deal with cases of identity theft²².

How your money is protected with Brown Shipley

Brown Shipley is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority³. Its Financial Services Register number is 124548, and it appears on the Bank of England's list of UK banks authorised to accept deposits⁴. The firm's consumer credit information confirms it has permission to enter into regulated credit agreements as lender¹.

Deposits with UK banks are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme⁵. For investment protection, the scheme requires that your provider is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority⁹. You can check whether a provider or adviser is authorised on the FCA Register⁵.

Brown Shipley's parent company is Quintet Private Bank (Europe) S.A., which heads a European network of private bankers from Luxembourg³. The firm is registered in England and Wales under company number 398426, with its registered office at 2 Moorgate, London, EC2R 6AG³. It was incorporated on 8 September 1945 and its company status is active²⁴.

Where protection stops is worth stating plainly. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers deposits and investments within its limits, but it does not cover losses from scams where you were persuaded to transfer money yourself, which is why the firm's own warning about impersonation matters². And an overdraft is repayable on demand, so money in an account used that way is not in the same position as a fixed-term deposit⁷.