| Former type | Subsidiary/Trading name |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Fate | Renamed under parent brand |
| Successor | Santander UK Plc |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Defunct | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Narborough, UK |
| Products | Banking, insurance |
| Parent | Grupo Santander |
| Website | alliance-leicester.co.uk |
Alliance & Leicester was a former UK-based bank and PLC, which in later years operated as a trading name of Santander UK before being rebranded as Santander. Alliance & Leicester was legally acquired in May 2010 by Santander UK, and was fully incorporated by 2011.[1][2] Although all branches now carry the Santander name, its international arm based in Douglas, Isle of Man retains the Alliance & Leicester name and operates separately from Santander UK.
Formed in 1985 through a merger of the Alliance Building Society and the Leicester Building Society, Alliance & Leicester became a bank in 1997 when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange. It was formerly listed in the FTSE 250 Index, having been a FTSE 100 constituent from April 1997 to June 2008.
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The former building society was formed by the merger of the Alliance Building Society (originally based in and called the Brighton & Sussex) and the Leicester Building Society on 1 October 1985.[3] In 1990, the society acquired Girobank, a major provider of cash-handling services to the government and large companies and current accounts, from the Post Office.[3] With other large building societies such as Halifax and Woolwich, Alliance & Leicester decided to float on the London Stock Exchange, generating windfall payments to members worth up to £5,000 each. Flotation took place on 21 April 1997.[4]
On 14 July 2008 the board of A&L recommended that shareholders accept a takeover bid from Banco Santander for around £1.26 billion.[2] This recommendation was ratified by shareholders at meetings on 16 September 2008.[5] The takeover took effect on 10 October 2008 when shares of the company were delisted from the London Stock Exchange.[6]
The bank transferred its business into Santander UK on 28 May 2010 following a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on 13 May 2010 as part of the procedure within the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.[7] Until this time Alliance & Leicester was as a separate institution with its own banking licence while at the same time migrating customer accounts to the Partenon software system.[8] Abbey and the Bradford & Bingley savings business were rebranded in January 2010. Branches of Alliance & Leicester were rebranded at the end of 2010.[9]
The four business sectors were:
The Santander Group provides general insurance, life assurance, unit trusts, personal current accounts and credit cards, asset financing and commercial lending. Its main retail business is in the United Kingdom concentrating on mortgage loans, current accounts, savings and personal loans. The Group is also endeavouring to expand its commercial operations through Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank.
A&L provided retail credit cards through a partnership with MBNA until it was bought by Grupo Santander. Cards were subsequently reissued with MBNA branding, while Alliance & Leicester began solely providing Santander branded credit cards, provided by Santander Cards Limited.[10][11] Selected investment products were also provided, together with those from Legal & General, which the bank had a partnership with.
Alliance & Leicester operated an international subsidiary based on the Isle of Man, which passed to Santander UK.
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