Clydesdale sell-off gets green light from NAB board

Clydesdale Bank chief executive David Duffy

The Melbourne-based group said more information about the demerger and initial public offering (IPO) will be released in the week beginning 7 December.

Glasgow-based Clydesdale, along with its Yorkshire Bank brand, is to be demerged from its Australian parent through a flotation on the London Stock Exchange. The sell-off had been expected to take place before the end of this year but is now set to happen in February. Between 20 and 30 per cent of the shares will go to new institutional investors via the IPO.

NAB said: “The proposed demerger and IPO remain subject to a range of matters, including various court and regulatory approvals and NAB shareholder approval.”

Clydesdale’s annual report, published last week, showed its new chief executive, David Duffy, was awarded a £500,000 signing-on bonus when he joined the lender in June, giving him a total pay package of £1.35 million in his first few months in the job.

Duffy has claimed that the group could be a target or lead consolidation among UK “challenger” banks after being floated on the stock market by NAB. He said last month: “You have to earn the right to participate in acquisitions. But if you get that right, then, with the position and scale we have, we certainly have consolidation as an option.”