LONDON: Britain’s Metro Bank on Thursday launched a formal sale process as part of a strategic review, opening the door to a potential takeover as the lender seeks to build on its turnaround strategy.
The bank, which had a market capitalisation of £1.21 billion (US$1.6 billion) as of Wednesday’s close, said it was not in active discussions with any potential bidder and had not received any offer.
The move comes after a multi-year turnaround, which included cost cuts, acceleration into higher-return lending for corporate, commercial, small and medium enterprises, and specialist mortgage lending, and drove it to record profits.