On his father's death in 1888 he became chairman of the family business of Geo. G. Sandeman & Sons Ltd. In 1894 he was made Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, becoming Governor the following year until 1897. He also served as a Commissioner of Income Tax for the City of London and as President of the London Chamber of Commerce (1898). Sandeman's tenure as Governor occurred during the Panics of 1893 and 1896.
