COUTTS, bankers to the super rich, Lotto winners and Premiership footballers, has expanded its operations in Kent after becoming its second fastest-growing regional office.

Tunbridge Wells gives best only to Manchester in the Coutts’ expanding regional network.

Around 900 clients in Kent and Sussex have switched to the Queen’s bank since it opened in the town with its own royal pedigree.

The number of private bankers has recently doubled from three to six.

“We’re keen to expand our coverage,” said Alastair Graham, senior manager, who recently hosted a recital by Welsh National Opera soprano Amanda Roocroft for clients at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey.

“We had three private bankers there for three years and it’s become obvious there’s a lot of wealth in and around Kent, and it needs serving.”

He said that Tunbridge Wells had expanded more quickly than any other office outside London, with the exception of Manchester.

Clients had been attracted from across the county, he said. But they have to be invited to join and that invitation will only come after a thorough checking process.

If you have been involved in money laundering, have a criminal record, or personal habits that might bring discredit on the bank, forget it.

“We have a reputation to maintain and if somebody were to join the bank that could damage that reputation, they won’t necessarily be taken on as a client. We are still picky in that regard.”

It had never been easy to spot the problem clients, he added. “The checks we put in place are very rigorous and, we would like to think, fairly bulletproof.”

Coutts, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, will also want to hear that you have at least £500,000 in liquid assets, or £5 million non-liquid.

Many lottery winners are with Coutts. After being told they have won the jackpot, Camelot, the Lotto operator, gives them a list of potential wealth managers, including Coutts. It is said that most choose Coutts.

Apart from Her Majesty and lottery millionaires, the bank also has accounts with more than half the England football squad and around a third of all the players in the Premiership.

Meanwhile, Coutts has won a Private Asset Management Award for its multi-manager investment approach for the third year in a row.