Arbuthnot to float its Secure Trust Bank arm
ARBUTHNOT Banking is to float its Secure Trust Bank division on London’s junior Aim stock market, as part of plans to develop its business and compete with the UK’s major lenders.
Arbuthnot expects Secure Trust Bank’s flotation to take place by the end of the month. It will place new and existing shares in Secure Trust Bank on to the market, with Arbuthnot keeping a majority stake in the company.
Secure Trust Bank had first-half pretax profits of £5m and net lending of £5.7m per month on average for the first half of this year.
“The challenges, distractions and legacy issues faced by the large UK banks and the consumer credit sector provide Secure Trust Bank with a significant opportunity, as a well-capitalised deposit funded bank, to grow within its chosen markets,” Arbuthnot chairman and chief executive Henry Angest said in a statement yesterday.
Secure Trust Bank chief executive Paul Lynam said the company could move into spaces in the market as major banks cut costs and scale back business plans.
The Arbuthnot Banking Group also incudes Arbuthnot Securities and Arbuthnot Latham private banking.