Corsair Capital, the private equity firm where former Standard Chartered chairman Lord Davies of Abersoch is a partner, is the latest potential bidder for 316 branches of Royal Bank of Scotland which it has to sell off. Last month Santander pulled out of a £1.7 billion deal to buy the branches citing IT difficulties.
The sale, which the European Union has said must be done by the end of next year, is expected to command a much lower price second time around. Corsair joins several private equity firms including JC Flowers, which previously bid for Northern Rock, who have asked RBS for detailed information. But frontrunners remain Nationwide and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money, which bought the good parts of Northern Rock last year for £747 million.
