Chen looks for £200m in flotation
SANDY Chen, the former Panmure Gordon banking analyst, is aiming to raise around £200m within the next couple of weeks for his new banking group.
Investor research on the new venture has been issued in the past few days and Chen will be marketing the vehicle to potential investors this week with a view to raising money next week. Panmure Gordon is behind the project, as an adviser.
The new bank plans to raise deposits from affluent individuals looking for better interest rates than those available on the high street. It would then use these funds to lend money to medium-sized businesses that have been struggling to access cash during the credit crunch.
One source close to the fund-raising said the bank’s selling point is that it is a “traditional bank with strong IT systems and it is is entirely clean and straightforward”.
CityA.M. has learnt that the former Barclays chairman Sir Peter Middleton, who is in his mid seventies, will be acting as a senior consultant to the group.
The group’s working title has been Bank of Britain but it will be renamed before launch.