LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - New British bank Aldermorereported a nine-fold increase in profit in the first-half of theyear and increased the size of its balance sheet by a quarter to3.2 billion pounds ($4.9 billion).
Aldermore, founded in 2009, has established itself as one ofthe more credible newcomers trying to challenge Britain'sestablished banks and potentially increase competition in thehighly-concentrated financial services sector.
The bank, which made a profit for the first time last year,was set up by former Barclays executive Phillip Monks,with backing from private equity firms AnaCap and Morgan StanleyAlternative Investment Partners.
It said on Wednesday it made an operating profit of 9.2million pounds in the six months to the end of June, comparedwith 1 million pounds last year. The bank reported a 34 percentincrease in gross lending to 2.7 billion pounds.
Barclays (BARC)
