Manchester Building Society sells Whiteaway Laidlaw
MANCHESTER Building Society (MBS) has sold its Whiteaway Laidlaw subsidiary to a fund managed by the equity finance arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Whiteaway Laidlaw, a small bank which serves private and business customers, has a loan book of around £30m.
It has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by the RBS Special Opportunities Fund of RBS Equity Finance. A sale price of £10m was mooted last year.
MBS bought Whiteaway Laidlaw for around £5m in 2007 from the Home Retail Group – which inherited it after buying Manchester’s Great Universal Stores in the 1990s.
It said the disposal will improve its “core tier 1” capital ratio from 8.6% at December 31, 2009 to 10.6% at January 31, 2011, with the total solvency ratio moving from 13.9% to 19.4% over the same period.
The society said it will also be in a stronger position to accommodate the new capital requirements agreed following the banking crisis of 2008.
MBS chairman, Michael Prior, said: “We believe that the disposal of WLB will generate considerable added value to both the society and to the RBS Special Opportunities Fund of RBS Equity Finance.
“The improvement seen in the society’s regulatory capital position is noteworthy and results in a much stronger balance sheet position as we progress through 2011. The resulting group structure becomes more streamlined and cost efficient, which should benefit our members through the products and services that the society can offer.”
Based on Queen Street in Manchester city centre, Whiteaway Laidlaw employs 17 people. Neil Woolhouse and James Cook at law firm Addleshaw Goddard advised MBS.
