Owners launch £145m share sale in challenger bank

ARBUTHNOT BANKING GROUP, the majority shareholder in Solihull-based Secure Trust Bank, is to sell a £145m stake in the bank to institutional investors.

Secure Trust would then look to move from the Alternative Investment Market, which it joined in 2011, to the main market. The bank currently has a market value of about £500m.

As part of the intended move to the main market the Company will address its Corporate Governance structure and Sir Henry Angest, non-executive chairman of Secure Trust and chairman and chief executive of Arbuthnot has agreed to start the search for a new independent non-executive chairman of Secure Trust.

Sir Henry, who holds a 55.08% stake in Arbuthnot, has signed an irrevocable undertaking to vote in favour of the resolution that is required for Arbuthnot to approve the deal.

Arbuthnot’s sale of 5.8m shares at £25 each – a discount of 10.7% on last night’s closing price – would reduce its stake in Secure Trust from 51.9% to 20.0%, although it has said it may sell more if there is additional demand.

Secure Trust enjoyed a strong 2015, increasing pre-tax profits by 40% to £36.5m on the bank of significant growth in the business. Lending balances increased by 73%, taking it above £1bn, while the number of customers grew by one-third, to 570,000.

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