Aldermore to become latest bank to float

Aldermore focuses on small and medium-sized businesses and homeowners. Picture: Getty

The lender, partly owned by private equity fund AnaCap Financial Partners, focuses on small and medium-sized businesses and homeowners. It does not operate any physical branches and largely funds its lending through online savings accounts for individuals and small businesses.

Chief executive Phillip Monks said the float, which will consist of £75m of new shares plus a proportion of its existing shares, would enable the bank to raise more capital “to put more fuel in the tank”.

“Aldermore is a modern, legacy-free bank that challenges the established view on what banking should be,” he said.

“Now in our sixth year of growth, becoming a public company is the natural next step in Aldermore’s evolution and positions us for the next stage of our development through greater access to the capital markets  and enhanced profile for our brand.”

Aldermore is part of a wave of challenger banks to opt for a listing, with OneSavings and TSB floating earlier this year, as they seek to wrest market share from major high street lenders such as Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Virgin Money is also expected to float this year.

The challenger banks also include the likes of Edinburgh-based Hampden & Co, previously known as Scoban, which aims to launch by this autumn.

Aldermore said that first-half profits leapt 249 per cent to £18.6m, while lending to businesses and homeowners hit the £4 billion mark.

The company does not intend to pay a dividend in the near term, but will consider doing so from 2017 depending on growth opportunities, it said.

Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are leading the listing, while Nomura and Numis are co-lead managers.