British private equity firm BC Partners is considering a sale or initial public offering (IPO) for Shawbrook Group, a UK-based specialist savings and lending bank.
As part of the plan, US investment banks Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have been tapped to advise on the potential process, reported Bloomberg Markets citing people familiar with the matter.
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A consortium jointly led by BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital acquired Shawbrook Group in 2017, in a public to private transaction worth £861m.
Shawbrook operates across property finance, business finance, consumer lending and savings.
An IPO of Shawbrook, if materialised, could be the first major listing of a UK bank in London since Metro Bank’s flotation in 2016.
According to the people, the concerned parties are continuing deliberations on the matter, with no firm decision reached as of now.
None of the companies involved commented on the issue.
BC Partners is focused on private equity, credit, and real estate. It has networks across Europe and North America.
Established in 2011, Shawbrook serves UK SMEs and consumers with customised products.
Last year, Shawbrook Bank announced the purchase of specialist lender The Mortgage Lender (TML) to expand its core residential as well as buy-to-let product capabilities.
The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, follows Shawbrook’s minority stake purchase in the firm in 2018.
