Church of England consortium wins battle for RBS branches

27th Sep 2013 14:59

A consortium of investors, including the Church of England's investment fund has won a 600m pound auction to take a stake in a package of 300-plus Royal Bank of Scotland branches. The branches, which RBS must offload as a condition of receiving state aid, along with their 1.7m customers are to be spun off into a standalone bank and floated under the Williams & Glyn's bank brand which has lain dormant for nearly 30 years.The pre-IPO investment by the consortium, which also includes Corsair, chaired by former Standard Chartered boss Mervyn Davies, Centerbridge Partners and RIT Capital Partners, will comprise of a £600m bond that will be issued by RBS. The bond will be exchanged for a "significant minority interest" in Williams & Glyn's when it lists.RBS Chairman Sir Philip Hampton said: "Williams & Glyn's will play an important role in the UK banking landscape and will be an excellent new addition to the market, with a particular strength in small business banking - a sector that is so crucial to the UK's economic recovery."He added: "Much has been done already in building the standalone business, and today's announcement provides more certainty for our customers and employees ahead of a flotation."John Maltby, the former head of commercial banking at Lloyds Banking Group, will become Chief Executive of Williams & Glyn's while former United Utilities boss Philip Green has been lined up to become Chairman.Shares in RBS were down 1.64% at 364.95p. TB