With decades of combined experience, Barclays Corporate Banking’s North East team brings together deep sector expertise, strong local relationships, and a genuine passion for supporting local business growth.
The team reflects and embodies a commitment to the region with insight rooted in local knowledge, partnerships built on trust, and an understanding of the challenges and opportunities shaping the North East economy. From manufacturing and logistics to housing, retail, and professional services, these are the people working behind the scenes to help businesses thrive.
We spoke with several members of the team to learn more about their roles, how they support clients, and what drives them in their work. Based in Newcastle City Centre at Bank House on Pilgrim Street, the team in the North East are local professionals supporting local businesses. They are hands-on, accessible, and ready to travel across the region to meet clients where they are.
By combining the reach and capability with a dedicated in-person service delivered by familiar faces, Barclays Corporate Banking offers businesses in the North East something unique: expert support that’s both globally informed and locally grounded.
Supporting businesses turning over more than £6.5m pa, Barclays Corporate Banking has the banking excellence you’d expect with the data and insights you don’t. They look beyond banking to help you see what really matters. Through its dedicated sector and regional specialists, and the power of the wider Barclays network, they act on those insights together. Barclays provides its clients with innovative financing solutions that help you achieve a more expansive, better-connected future for your business.
Amanda Easton – Relationship Director, Large Corporate
After more than 25 years in Corporate Banking, Amanda knows what it takes to support ambitious businesses.
Having spent a decade in the Mid-Corporate team working across Retail & Wholesale, Manufacturing and Private Education, she recently stepped up to the Large Corporate division, specialising in Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics for businesses with turnover above £50 million.
“It’s a new and exciting opportunity for me,” Amanda says. “The North East’s industrial base is thriving, and being part of that growth story is incredibly rewarding.”
For Amanda, the heart of the job remains the same: building strong, trusted relationships. “Understanding each client’s business and their growth aspirations is the most enjoyable part of what I do.”
Away from work, Amanda loves travelling and spending time with family and friends — although, with two young children, she admits it’s not always easy to sit still for long.
David Gray – Relationship Director, Hospitality and Leisure, Construction
David joined Barclays in 1988 after an early brush with professional football — a passion that has stayed with him.
Over the years he’s worked across many parts of the bank but found his calling in the Corporate Banking Team in 2012. “I’ve always been motivated by relationships,” he explains. “My aim is to become a trusted partner to every business I work with, adding real value through insight and support.”
David focuses on the Hospitality & Leisure and Construction sectors — both vital to the North East economy.
When not supporting clients, David can often be found watching local football, on the golf course, or planning his next holiday.
Phil Royle – Relationship Director, Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics
Phil has been helping businesses access finance since 2006. After starting his career in Manchester and Merseyside, he moved into operations before returning to frontline corporate banking, where his passion for client relationships began.
For the past decade he’s supported mid corporate clients with a turnover of £6.5 million and above, now concentrating on the Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics sectors in the North East. “These industries are part of our region’s DNA,” he says. “They shape people’s lives and livelihoods and that makes the work meaningful.”
Phil takes pride in building long-term relationships, understanding each business’s strategic goals, and proposing solutions to help achieve them.
Outside of work, he’s dedicated to his community, from football and Rotary involvement to non-exec charity work and supporting local schools.
Brian O’Connor – Relationship Director, Social Housing
With 25 years in banking, Brian leads Barclays’ Social Housing presence in the North East, a role he describes as both “challenging and hugely fulfilling.”
“It’s a privilege to work with leading Housing Associations to fund new developments and retrofit existing stock, supporting our clients in creative quality affordable homes for the region’s community.”
Trust and integrity sit at the core of Brian’s approach, qualities that have defined his career and earned lasting client partnerships.
Beyond the office, he keeps active through football, yoga, CrossFit, and long walks with his lurcher.
Martin Rankin – Relationship Director, Retail & Wholesale
Martin brings more than 20 years of experience as a Relationship Director supporting mid corporate clients across the North East. His portfolio focuses on Retail and Wholesale businesses, alongside expertise in Hospitality, Leisure and Personalised Care.
“I take time to understand the people behind the business — their strategy, their ambitions, their vision for the future,” Martin explains. “That’s how we deliver world-class service and real partnership.”
Outside of work, Martin enjoys family time, mountain-biking, and following Newcastle United — though, he admits, “that hasn’t always been so enjoyable!”
Rachel Hayes – Relationship Director, Professional Services, Recruitment & Technology
With more than twenty years in banking, Rachel joined the Corporate team last year, bringing her expertise in Professional Services, Recruitment, and Technology.
Her success lies in her ability to build deep, meaningful client relationships. “I’m genuinely curious about what drives my clients,” she says. “That curiosity allows me to bring new ideas and solutions to help them reach their goals.”
Rachel thrives on engagement, seeing herself as a trusted advisor to shareholders and directors alike.
Outside work, life is ‘a whirlwind’ of gym sessions and family life with two young children, whose busy social and sporting calendars, she jokes, have completely overtaken her own.
Peter Cunningham – Relationship Director, Large Corporate
Peter has spent two decades in banking, starting in Manchester before making the North East his home ten years ago. Today, he works with large corporate clients in the Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics sectors, industries he finds endlessly fascinating.
“I love understanding the supply chains, skills, and innovation that drive these sectors,” he says. “My role is to understand my clients’ strategies and provide the financial support and insight they need to keep moving forward.”
Away from work, Peter enjoys family time, “increasingly watching rather than playing” sport, music, cooking, reading, and podcasts.
