Santander International is to open a Santander Work Café in the Isle of Man at Old Market Hall, Douglas, next year.
The bank will partner with Noa Bakehouse to develop a café, meeting, events, and co-working space in the iconic building.
Noa Bakehouse will continue to run its popular café from the site, adding a new, grab-and-go menu for the meeting rooms and co-working areas, and a selection of artisanal food and drinks.
The Work Café will offer free bookable meeting rooms, and accessible co-working spaces with free Wi-Fi, alongside new banking facilities. Customers will be able to meet banking staff in the building, open and manage accounts and mortgages, and withdraw money using ATMs.
James Geldart, Managing Director, Isle of Man, said: “We’re looking forward to working with Noa Bakehouse to bring a Santander Work Café to the Isle of Man community. The Work Café will be accessible and open to all the community, creating a vibrant new hub for freelancers to work, entrepreneurs to meet, and for everyone to enjoy great food, drinks, and events. Pippa and Miles have a strong ethos for innovation and bring an amazing energy to the partnership.”
Since the launch of the first Santander Work Café in Chile in 2016, the bank has opened more than 100 Work Cafes around the world, including branches in Leeds and Jersey.
Noa, which means ‘fresh’ in Manx, was set up as a sourdough bakery by Pippa and Miles Pettit nearly 10 years ago. It has expanded into patisserie, coffee roasting, and hospitality while maintaining its focus on sustainable produce, procured through Direct Trade, or made in the Isle of Man.
Pippa Pettit, Co-owner, Noa Bakehouse, said: “This is an exciting project for us, and for the Isle of Man, building on the popularity of Noa and taking the Market Hall into the 21st century. The Work Café will allow us to go beyond brunch and scale up our business to bring Islanders a wider range of locally produced artisanal food and drinks.”
Work on the Market Hall will start early next year, with the new Santander Work Café opening mid-2023. To find out more about the latest developments please see workcafe.im