Williams & Glyn’s Bank to be revived by RBS

WILLIAMS & Glyn’s – a brand with strong North West connections – will be reborn on the high street after a deal was struck by the Royal Bank of Scotland to sell 314 branches.

A deal has been agreed by RBS with a group of investors led by private equity firm Corsair Capital, which will see the branches separated from the group and then floated, probably in late 2015.

Corsair defeated a number of bidders, including one led by ex-Tesco finance director Andy Higginson to buy the assets, knowns as Project Rainbow, which had originally been due to be sold to Santander.

Manchester corporate banker Rob Pailin has been appointing chief operating officer of the to-be divested business.

He said investment and appointment of former Lloyds commercial bank head John Maltby as Williams & Glyn’s CEO designate were positive developments for staff, customers and the wider market.

“The pre-IPO investment provides certainty for our customers and employees and we are very much looking forward to bringing the Williams & Glyn’s brand back to the market as a new customer-focused challenger bank here in the North West and throughout the UK.”

The business serves nearly 1.7 million customers, currently employs around 4,500 people and in the future will employ approximately 6,000 people as a result of its need for its own IT infrastucture and back office.

It has £19.7bn loan book, funded by £22.2bn in customer deposits.
 
Former United Utilities chief executive Philip Green will be chairman of the new bank. RBS will receive an upfront investment of £600m and a later payment of as much as £200m as part of the deal.

Other members of the Corsair consortium include the Church Commissioners for England, RIT Capital Partners and US private equity investor Centerbridge Partners.

The William & Glyn’s name comes from the 1970 merger of Williams Deacon’s Bank and Glyn, Mills & Co, has lain dormant for almost 30 years. Williams Deacon was a 19th Century Manchester institution and included The Manchester and Salford Banking Company.