Bank Irel13.375 Regulatory News (BOI)

24 May 2005 07:01

Bristol & West PLC24 May 2005 Bristol & West to sell its branch network for £150 million Bristol & West today announces that it has signed an agreement for the sale ofits branch network and associated deposit base to Britannia Building Society forapproximately £150 million (c. €218 million). The consideration may be subjectto certain adjustments and is payable in cash on completion. The sale will beeffected through a business transfer scheme under the Financial Services andMarkets Act 2000 and is subject to approval by the UK Courts and the FinancialServices Authority. Completion is expected to occur in the autumn. The Bristol & West brand and all other parts of the Bristol & West business willbe retained by Bank of Ireland. Brian Goggin, Group Chief Executive, Bank of Ireland, said:"This is an excellent result for Bank of Ireland and for the customers andemployees of the Bristol & West branch network. The disposal delivers on a keycommitment set out by us last November. To sell at a good price to a qualityinstitution, while enhancing the offering to customers and maintainingemployment, is good news for everyone." "Our business in the UK is now focused on three key areas: the successfulBristol & West and Bank of Ireland mortgage business; our growing businessbanking operation; and our venture with the UK Post Office which allows us todistribute financial services products to a wide UK consumer market throughEurope's largest retail network." The profit on disposal of the branch network is expected to amount toapproximately £90 million (c. €131 million) after tax and will be reflected inthe results for the year ending 31 March 2006. The transaction is expected to beearnings neutral from a Bank of Ireland Group perspective going forward and havea positive impact on the Group and UKFS cost/income ratios. The branch networkmade a profit before tax of £(0.4) million (c. •(0.6) million) in the year ended31 March 2005, comprising operating contribution of £16 million (€23.3 million)less costs of support services of £16.4 million (€23.9 million). Net assets werenegligible at 31 March 2005. Ends 24 May 2005 Contacts:Dan Loughrey, Head of Group Corporate Communications, Bank of Ireland. Ph. +353 1 604 3838Geraldine Deighan, Head of Group Investor Relations, Bank of Ireland. Ph. +353 1 604 3501Rory Godson, Powerscourt. Ph. +44 207 236 5615 Notes to Editors:The business being sold comprises 97 branches and an associated deposit book ofapproximately £4.5 billion. The network has approximately 850,000 customers. Bank of Ireland Group is the leading provider of financial services products inthe Republic of Ireland and has a major presence in the UK market. It employs18,000 staff, has assets of €126 billion and generated pre-tax profits of €1.3billion in the year ended 31 March 2005. The UK Financial Services (UKFS) Division of Bank of Ireland is a leadingprovider of mortgages and business banking products and distributes financialservices consumer banking products through the joint venture with the UK PostOffice. The UKFS Division made profits before tax of £265 million (€388 million)in the year ended 31 March 2005. UKFS employs c. 4,300 staff. The retained Bristol & West plc businesses (including the Bristol & Westmortgage business) contribute c. 50% of UKFS profits. The balance of the UKFSdivisional profits are accounted for by the Business Banking UK operation. Britannia is the 2nd largest building society in the UK with 2 million membersand £25 billion of assets. Britannia has a branch network of 187 branches acrossthe UK, employs 3,900 staff and is headquartered in Leek, Staffordshire. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange