Metro Bank shareholders have voted to back a rescue deal aimed at securing its future as Barclays engages in exclusive negotiations to acquire the group’s residential mortgage book.
ADVERTISEMENTMetro Bank shareholders have voted to back a rescue deal aimed at securing its future as Barclays engages in exclusive negotiations to acquire the group’s residential mortgage book.
News of the talks came to light as Metro Bank shareholders agreed to a deal for £325m (€374 million) of new funding – and the refinancing of £600m (€691.5 million) of debt.
The proposals were passed with more than 90% of shareholders voting in support at a meeting on Monday.
The capital fundraise will see Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski Bacal become a majority shareholder in the group with a 53% stake.
Why does Metro Bank need help?
Meanwhile, Metro Bank is reportedly in talks with Barclays to sell its residential mortgage book, worth £3 billion (€3.45bn). Sky News reported that it has entered talks with Barclays to offload its portfolio as part of the strategy to strengthen its capital position.
Metro Bank, which launched in 2010 in the UK, has faced a number of challenges in recent years after an accounting scandal in 2019, which led to the departure of some top executives, including the bank’s founder.
Investor sentiment was hit as a result of the bank’s uncertain future with its shares falling in early October. On Tuesday 28 November, at the time of writing, its shares were down 3.80%.
Barclays is also concurrently exploring the potential acquisition of Tesco’s banking operations, as reported earlier this month by Reuters.
