London – LAWFUEL – Allen & Overy LLP said today that it is advising Nationwide on its proposed mergers with The Derbyshire and The Cheshire building societies, which will significantly impact on the building society sector in the UK. The merger will involve two separate transactions and represents an important step in maintaining a strong mutual sector in the UK, with Nationwide’s pre-eminent position and financial strength providing a solid foundation for the future.
These transactions bring The Derbyshire and The Cheshire’s combined circa 925,000 members the benefits and security of membership of Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society, and are expected to create a society with assets totalling more than £191 billion and £122 billion of retail deposits.
The Derbyshire has assets of £7.1 billion, 50 branches and 485,000 members. The Cheshire has assets of £4.9 billion, 45 branches and over 440,000 members. The transactions are both expected to conclude before the end of the calendar year, and are subject to confirmation by the FSA and approval by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The Allen & Overy team is being led Corporate partners Richard Slynn and Alistair Asher and senior associate Ben Koehne. The team also includes Corporate associates Angelene Galway and Laura Cohen together with a large team of specialists from across Allen & Overy’s London office.
