Metro Bank shares soar after takeover interest from Shawbrook owner

Shares in Metro bank boomed as markets opened on Monday after reports the high street lender had been approached for a takeover.

The FTSE 250 bank’s stock was up nine per cent to 122.00p during early trading. On Friday, shares closed at 112.2p, giving it a market capitalisation north of £750m.

This follows private equity firm Pollen Street reportedly lodging interest in taking the bank private with an acquisition, according to Sky News.

Pollen Street is one of the majority owners of Shawbrook Bank, which has been at the centre of merger speculations in recent months.

Shawbrook approached fintech veteran Starling Bank regrading a £5bn merger earlier this year, as the owners steered away from an IPO.

Whilst discussions became inactive, the door has been left open for a formal offer, sources told Sky.

Shawbrook’s owners eying mergers

Shawbrook’s private equity owners have been on the hunt for fresh mergers and acquisitions, as the firm lodged an offer for rival Co-op bank in October 2023. The owners were reported to be weighing a bid for Metro at the same time.

Metro’s shares have climbed over 230 per cent in the last year after it was rescued from near-collapse in November 2024.

Colombian billionaire James Gilinski Bacal helped inject £925m into the lender, in exchange for a 53 per cent stake through his investment vehicle Spaldy Investments. Bacal now sits on Metro’s board.

If Metro was be taken into private administration, it would deliver yet another crushing blow to the embattled London Stock Exchange.

Recent weeks have seen a fleet of firms depart from their primary or entire UK listing in favour of privatisation or overseas.

UK fintech darling Wise earlier this month transferred its primary listing away from the US, as it sought to capture deeper liquidity as part of growth plans.

Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, told the Treasury Committee last Tuesday: “There is this question around how attractive UK companies have become, particularly to US buyers”.