Metro Bank to float on Monday

THE public will be given the chance to invest in another High Street lender next week when Metro Bank floats on the stockmarket.

The challenger bank yesterday said it has raised £400m from a combination of existing and new investors.

The fundraising values the South East and London-focused lender at around £1.6bn.

Although this is less than the £2bn price tag it had initially been hoping for, experts said it was still a coup for the lender given how badly banks have been hammered during the recent stockmarket turmoil. A £1.6bn valuation means the 8.5pc stake owned by its flamboyant American chairman and founder Vernon Hill i s worth £136m. Other investors include blue-chip fund managers Fidelity and BlackRock.

Despite boasting of being the fastest growing bank in the UK, Metro Bank has yet to turn a profit since becoming the first High Street lender in the country to receive a banking license in 2010. But in a relatively short period it has acquired around 500,000 customers – who it insists on calling ‘fans’ – and 40 branches, or ‘stores’.

Conditional trading in the bank’s shares will begin on Monday, with the shares available for the public to buy when it makes its full debut on Thursday.

David Buik, from stockbroker Panmure Gordon, said he was impressed with Metro’s fundraising efforts but said the £20 price tag might put off ordinary investors.