| Type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| Traded as | LSE: NBNK |
| Industry | Banking investments |
| Founded | 2 July 2010 |
| Founder(s) | Lord Levene & others |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
| Key people | Gary Hoffman (CEO) |
| Website | www.nbnkinvestmentsplc.co.uk |
NBNK Investments plc is a financial investment company formed by Lord Levene and a consortium of senior business figures in 2010. The aim of the company is to build a new large UK retail bank primarily through the acquisition of other banks.
The company was formed by Lord Levene and a consortium of City executives as a vehicle to acquire UK banking assets in domestic banking and eventually wealth management. On 2 July 2010 the company was incorporated under the name of De Facto 9999 plc, and a month later on 2 August the company name was changed to NBNK Investments plc.[1] The company was listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange on 20 August and has major advisers and investors on-board including Aviva, Invesco and F&C Asset Management.[2][3]
People involved in the consortium include Peter Levene, chairman of Lloyd's of London, Sir David Walker who has been chairman of Morgan Stanley, Charles McCreevy former European Union internal markets commissioner and politician John McFall.[4]
In July 2010 it was reported that the nationalised British bank Northern Rock was a prime target for NBNK Investments.[2] UK Financial Investments Limited, owners of Northern Rock, had been briefed on the proposals.[5] On 4 November Gary Hoffman left Northern Rock to become CEO at NBNK Investments on 1 May 2011. Due to Hoffman's previous position NBNK Investments could not table a bid for Northern Rock for a period of 12 months.[6] In November 2011 it was announced that Virgin Money would be buying Northern Rock.[7]
In September 2011 NBNK announced that trading in its shares would be suspended until takeover talks with an unnamed bank had been concluded.[8]
In November 2011 it was revealed that NBNK and the Co-operative Banking Group were the final two bidders for 600 or more of the branches of Lloyds Banking Group[9]. In December 2011, Lloyds said its preferred option for the sale of 632 bank branches is to sell them to the Co-operative Group.[10]