The merger will unite specialist mortgage brands Precise Mortgages and Kent Reliance, part of One Savings Bank, as they will both report to Alan Cleary, managing director of Precise Mortgages.
Precise Mortgages parent Charter Court Financial Services and OneSavings Bank (OSB) are expected to go ahead with the merger after both boards approved the move.
The merger will unite specialist mortgage brands Precise Mortgages and Kent Reliance, part of One Savings Bank, while they will both report to Alan Cleary, managing director of Precise Mortgages.
However both Charter Court and OSB are set to stay in the same locations of Wolverhampton andChatham respectively and the strategy is to maintain a ‘multi-brand model’.
Charter Court shareholders will own 45% of the group after the move goes through.
The new group will employ 1,684 full time members of staff – cutting 235 jobs over three years.
The merger is now subject to shareholder approval, as well as change of control approvals from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
New board
A new board of the combined group will be established, with Sir Malcolm Williamson, currently chairman of Charter Court, being chairman, andDavid Weymouth, currently chairman of OSB, becoming deputy chairman and leader of a Board Integration Committee.
Andy Golding and April Talintyre, currently chief executive and chief financial officer of OneSavings Bank, will retain the same positions in the new group.
Ian Lonergan, chief executive of Charter Court, will be integration director for 18 months to facilitate bringing together OSB’s and Charter Court’s capabilities.
Meanwhile four non-executive directors of Charter Court will join the six current non-executive directors on the OSB board, with Noël Harwerth joining as senior independent director.
Peter Elcock will take on the group risk role with responsibility for the integration and convergence of the risk frameworks and function, while HasanKazmi will remain CRO for the existing OSB business.
Sebastien Maloney, currently chief financial officer of Charter Court, will be retained as an adviser to the group for up to 12 months to facilitate the integration of Charter Court’s in-house capital markets and balance sheet management capabilities.
David Weymouth, chairman of OSB, said: “The combination will create a leading specialist lender that we believe will benefit from enhanced scale, product offerings and a robust and diversified funding platform.
“Both businesses bring complementary strengths which we fully expect will position the combined business to continue to deliver for its customers and shareholders.
“The OSB board and management team have built a strong, customer-focused approach that we believe can develop from strength to strength through the combination with Charter Court and continue to grow the businesses within the fragmented specialist lending segment.”
And Sir Malcolm Williamson, chairman of Charter Court, said: “The strategic fit of the two banks is compelling and will bring together complementary strengths and capabilities to enhance our customer proposition and create a leading specialist lender that is very well positioned to deliver sustainable returns and take advantage of future growth opportunities.
“Since Charter Court’s foundation in 2008, the Charter Court management team has achieved a tremendous amount in building Charter Court into one of the UK’s leading specialist banks.
“To now be bringing together the complementary strengths of Charter Court and OSB is a great opportunity and excellent base from which to continue a growth strategy. I am honoured to be asked and look forward to being chairman of the board of the combined group.”
