‘I’m still proud of what we created’: Metro Bank’s 14-year rollercoaster ride

Anthony Thomson and Vernon Hill share a joke outside the first branch of Metro Bank in Holborn, central London, in 2010. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

In early 2008, inside the Seashell fish and chip shop in Marylebone, west London, Anthony Thomson was about to make a deal.

Sitting with the American billionaire Vernon Hill over cod and chips, he revealed plans to import the tycoon’s template for a US-style, consumer-focused bank to the UK. Hill gave Thomson his blessing, and ultimately, a chunk of his money, joining him as co-founder.