Challenger bank plans £900m float

Aldermore, partly owned by private equity fund AnaCap Financial Partners, focuses on lending to small and medium-sized businesses and homeowners.

The offer will consist of £75m of new shares, plus an undetermined amount of existing shares, it said on Monday.

Aldermore is part of a wave of so-called “challenger banks” to opt for a listing, with OneSavings and TSB floating earlier in 2014, as they seek to wrest market share from major high-street lenders such as Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays.

Virgin Money is also expected to float this year. There has also been speculation that Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks may float in 2015.

Aldermore said first-half profit leapt 249 per cent to £18.6m, while lending to businesses and homeowners hit the £4bn mark.

“We’re raising more capital to put more fuel in the tank,” said chief executive Phillip Monks.

The company does not intend to pay a dividend in the near term, but will consider doing so from 2017 depending on growth opportunities, it said.

Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are leading the listing, while Nomura and Numis are co-lead managers. Lazard is advising.