For Virgin Money, a takeover of W&G; would have strong strategic merit as it seeks to grow its presence in the SME banking sector. Santander UK has hired advisers to help it make a fresh bid for Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) Williams & Glyn (W&G) banking business. A previous deal between Santander and RBS collapsed in 2012 due to concerns by Santander over IT issues relating to the separation of the branch network. A formal auction of W&G will begin in the next few months, as RBS looks to secure an exit from the business ahead of an extended deadline set by the European Commission. Sources say that Banco Sabadell is also interested in W&G, despite remarks from its senior executive last year that it was not looking at further takeovers "for the next year".
Santander UK has hired advisers to help it make a fresh bid for Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) Williams & Glyn (W&G) banking business. A previous deal between Santander and RBS collapsed in 2012 due to concerns by Santander over IT issues relating to the separation of the branch network. A formal auction of W&G will begin in the next few months, as RBS looks to secure an exit from the business ahead of an extended deadline set by the European Commission. Sources say that Banco Sabadell is also interested in W&G, despite remarks from its senior executive last year that it was not looking at further takeovers "for the next year".