Alliance & Leicester
Encyclopedia
Alliance & Leicester was a former UK-based bank and PLC
, which in later years operated as a trading name of Santander UK
before being rebranded as Santander. Alliance & Leicester was legally acquired in May 2010 by Santander UK
, and was fully incorporated by 2011. Although all branches now carry the Santander name, its international arm based in Douglas, Isle of Man
retains the Alliance & Leicester name and operates separately from Santander UK.
Formed in 1985 through a merger of the Alliance Building Society and the Leicester Building Society, Alliance & Leicester became a bank in 1997 when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange
. It was formerly listed in the FTSE 250 Index
, having been a FTSE 100 constituent from April 1997 to June 2008.
was formed by the merger of the Alliance Building Society (originally based in and called the Brighton
& Sussex
) and the Leicester Building Society on 1 October 1985. In 1990, the society acquired Girobank
, a major provider of cash-handling services to the government and large companies and current accounts, from the Post Office. With other large building societies such as Halifax and Woolwich
, Alliance & Leicester decided to float on the London Stock Exchange, generating windfall
payments to members worth up to £5,000 each. Flotation took place on 21 April 1997.
The bank transferred its business into Santander UK on 28 May 2010 following a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice
on 13 May 2010 as part of the procedure within the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
. Until this time Alliance & Leicester was as a separate institution with its own banking licence while at the same time migrating customer accounts to the Partenon software system. Abbey
and the Bradford & Bingley
savings business were rebranded in January 2010. Branches of Alliance & Leicester were rebranded at the end of 2010.
The four business sectors were:
The Santander Group provides general insurance
, life assurance, unit trust
s, personal current account
s and credit card
s, asset financing and commercial lending. Its main retail business is in the United Kingdom
concentrating on mortgage loan
s, current accounts, savings and personal loans. The Group is also endeavouring to expand its commercial operations through Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank.
A&L provided retail credit card
s through a partnership with MBNA
until it was bought by Grupo Santander. Cards were subsequently reissued with MBNA branding, while Alliance & Leicester began solely providing Santander branded credit cards, provided by Santander Cards Limited.
Selected investment products also provided are available, together with those provided by Legal & General
, which the bank has had a partnership with.
Alliance & Leicester operated an international subsidiary
based on the Isle of Man
, which will be re-branded Santander in due course.
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
, which in later years operated as a trading name of Santander UK
Santander UK
Santander UK plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group. Based in the United Kingdom, it operates under the name of Santander. Santander is the third largest bank in the UK in terms of deposits, the second largest in terms of mortgages held, and the fourth largest in terms of...
before being rebranded as Santander. Alliance & Leicester was legally acquired in May 2010 by Santander UK
Santander UK
Santander UK plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group. Based in the United Kingdom, it operates under the name of Santander. Santander is the third largest bank in the UK in terms of deposits, the second largest in terms of mortgages held, and the fourth largest in terms of...
, and was fully incorporated by 2011. Although all branches now carry the Santander name, its international arm based in Douglas, Isle of Man
Douglas, Isle of Man
right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
retains the Alliance & Leicester name and operates separately from Santander UK.
Formed in 1985 through a merger of the Alliance Building Society and the Leicester Building Society, Alliance & Leicester became a bank in 1997 when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
. It was formerly listed in the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
, having been a FTSE 100 constituent from April 1997 to June 2008.
Early history
The former building societyBuilding society
A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially mortgage lending. These institutions are found in the United Kingdom and several other countries.The term "building society"...
was formed by the merger of the Alliance Building Society (originally based in and called the Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
& Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
) and the Leicester Building Society on 1 October 1985. In 1990, the society acquired Girobank
Girobank
Girobank was a British public sector financial institution founded in 1968 by the General Post Office. Itstarted life as the National Giro but went through several name changes, becoming National Girobank, then Girobank Plc , before merging into Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank...
, a major provider of cash-handling services to the government and large companies and current accounts, from the Post Office. With other large building societies such as Halifax and Woolwich
The Woolwich
The Woolwich is a trademark of the British bank Barclays. Originally the 'Woolwich' was the Woolwich Building Society before it demutualised and became a public limited company in 1997...
, Alliance & Leicester decided to float on the London Stock Exchange, generating windfall
Windfall
Windfall is a serial drama television series about a group of people in an unnamed small city who win almost $400 000 000 in a lottery. The series premiered Thursday, June 8, 2006 on NBC, taking the time slot occupied by ER during the rest of the year.On August 31, 2006, NBC announced the show's...
payments to members worth up to £5,000 each. Flotation took place on 21 April 1997.
Takeover
On 14 July 2008 the board of A&L recommended that shareholders accept a takeover bid from Banco Santander for around £1.26 billion. This recommendation was ratified by shareholders at meetings on 16 September 2008. The takeover took effect on 10 October 2008 when shares of the company were delisted from the London Stock Exchange.The bank transferred its business into Santander UK on 28 May 2010 following a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice
Royal Courts of Justice
The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is the building in London which houses the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and the High Court of Justice of England and Wales...
on 13 May 2010 as part of the procedure within the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Financial Services Authority as a regulator for insurance, investment business and banking.-Outline:...
. Until this time Alliance & Leicester was as a separate institution with its own banking licence while at the same time migrating customer accounts to the Partenon software system. Abbey
Abbey (bank)
Abbey National plc was a UK-based bank and former building society, which latterly traded under the Abbey brand name. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Santander of Spain in 2004, and was rebranded as Santander in January 2010, forming Santander UK along with the savings business of the...
and the Bradford & Bingley
Bradford & Bingley
Bradford & Bingley plc is a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley. In 2008, partly due to the credit crunch, the bank was nationalised and in effect split into two parts; the mortgage book remained with the now publicly owned Bradford & Bingley plc, and the deposits...
savings business were rebranded in January 2010. Branches of Alliance & Leicester were rebranded at the end of 2010.
Operations
- mortgage lendingMortgage loanA mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
& investments - personal banking
- commercial banking
- treasuryTreasuryA treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
The Santander Group provides general insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
, life assurance, unit trust
Unit trust
A unit trust is a form of collective investment constituted under a trust deed.Found in Australia, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK, unit trusts offer access to a wide range of securities....
s, personal current account
Current account
In economics, the current account is one of the two primary components of the balance of payments, the other being the capital account. The current account is the sum of the balance of trade , net factor income and net transfer payments .The current account balance is one of two major...
s and credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s, asset financing and commercial lending. Its main retail business is in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
concentrating on mortgage loan
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
s, current accounts, savings and personal loans. The Group is also endeavouring to expand its commercial operations through Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank.
A&L provided retail credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s through a partnership with MBNA
MBNA
MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006...
until it was bought by Grupo Santander. Cards were subsequently reissued with MBNA branding, while Alliance & Leicester began solely providing Santander branded credit cards, provided by Santander Cards Limited.
Selected investment products also provided are available, together with those provided by Legal & General
Legal & General
Legal & General Group Plc , commonly known as Legal & General, is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its products include life insurance, general insurance, pensions and investments. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Egypt, France, Germany,...
, which the bank has had a partnership with.
Alliance & Leicester operated an international subsidiary
Alliance & Leicester International
Alliance & Leicester International Limited has been part of Grupo Santander since 2008 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Santander UK plc. The bank offers a range of international savings accounts primarily to Isle of Man residents and British expatriates but also to non-domiciles living in the...
based on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, which will be re-branded Santander in due course.