Yorkshire Building Society and Leeds Building Society are plotting bids for Newcastle-based Atom Bank, the UK’s first app-based bank, according to a report in London newspaper The Financial Times.

The member-owned mutual societies are among groups considering takeover bids for Atom, which is backed by the Spanish banking group BBVA and asset manager Toscafund, according to the London newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report said Atom’s owners have appointed investment bank Jefferies to run the sale process and hope to get more than £600 million for the lender, which has about 250,000 customers.

The report said this would mark a significant increase in valuation for a bank that was valued at £350 million when it raised funds last year, according to PitchBook data. That was a drop from a fundraising in 2022 that valued it at £459 million.

Some industry analysts said they believed bids could ultimately come in at less than £600 million. Atom, Leeds Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society and Jefferies declined to comment.

Atom Bank recently moved its HQ from Durham to Newcastle.

Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society said its savings balances increased £1.1 billion to £54 billion in 2025. Profit before tax was £377.9 million. Leeds Building Society said its savings balances grew to £26.1 billion in 2025 and it delivered profit before tax of £198.6 million.