Aldermore boss stoked up by firepower from new owner after £1.1 billion deal
Aldermore boss Phillip Monks on Monday said he was “excited” about the “additional firepower” his new South African owners will give him.
The challenger bank accepted a £1.1 billion bid from FirstRand last November, which closed last week. Monks claims Aldermore had had no plans to sell, but said “you have to be flattered when someone comes along and offers you a premium”.
Today, Aldermore’s figures showed why it was attractive: annual profit was up 20% at £160 million and the net interest margin — the difference between what it charges borrowers and pays savers — was held at a chunky 3.5%.
That’s far higher than for other banks, leaving critics to suggest Aldermore is better for investors than customers. Monks said: “We’ve supported more customers than ever before.”
Aldermore’s loan book grew by 15% to £8.6 billion.
It is working on integrating itself into FirstRand, but says there should be few in any job cuts. Monks is hoping to grab some of the £750 million in funds up for grabs from Royal Bank of Scotland. That’s money RBS has to make available in return for its government bail-out got. “We are very interested in it,” he said.
