Osmond bids for Lloyds branches

The Pizza Express chain founder Hugh Osmond is one of the few bidders for the 632 branches the Lloyds Banking Group is putting up for sale.

Osmond's offer is among only three received for the branches (See: No takers for Lloyds 632 branches), which Lloyds is being forced to sell by the European Union. Osmond made the approach through the private equity group Sun Capital.http://www.domainb.com/finance/banks/20110726_lloyds_banking.html

The bid is being backed by Osmond and his associates at Sun Capital, for which they intend to raise additional funds from outside investors for a new investment vehicle to support any successful offer. According to analysts, the price tag may be expected to be around £2 billion.  

The other bidders are NBNK, the shell vehicle set up by Lord Levene, a former Lloyd's of London chairman, and the mutually-owned Co-operative Bank. According to sources, Lloyds was disappointed that National Australia Bank had made no offer after being among 10 potential bidders to ask for the details of the sale in mid-June.

Speculation had been rife that NBNK, would team up with NAB to link the new Lloyds branches with the Clydesdale and Yorkshire branches already owned by the Melbourne-based bank.

The branches represent some 4.6 per cent of the current account market, which the EU wants to be sold off in return for the £20 billion of taxpayer funds that went into propping up the bank during the 2008 banking crisis, when HBOS plc a wholly owned subsidiary was rescued by Lloyds.