Virgin Money declines to comment over TSB bid speculation

British residential mortgage lender Kensington Group and credit card provider NewDay are also likely to join the race as their respective private equity owners are seeking ways to add scale and banking capabilities to their portfolio investments, the sources told Reuters.,

A consortium of Cinven and CVC bought NewDay in 2017 in a deal worth roughly £1 billion while Blackstone and TPG Special Situations Partners took control of Kensington in 2014 from Investec for £180 million

TSB’s Spanish owner Sabadell has hired Goldman Sachs to put the business up for sale following the collapse of merger talks with BBVA.

It is currently sounding out possible bidders as it wants to launch an auction process in the first quarter of 2021 and wrap up the sale by next summer, the sources said.

Sabadell, Virgin Money, OneSavings Bank, Kensington and NewDay declined to comment.

A TSB spokesman said the bank would not comment on speculation.

He added: :"We have completed the first year of our growth strategy making significant progress in meeting the needs of TSB customers with new products and services.

"We’ve seen good momentum in underlying business growth and have accelerated the delivery of our strategy, including taking full control of our IT, delivering a right-sized modern branch network and reducing overall operating costs.”