Bank of Ireland has signed an agreement to sell its subsidiary Chase de Vere Financial Solutions at a substantial loss to AWD, part of German financial advise company AWD Holdings AG. The sale will be for a total cash consideration of E30 million.
Bank of Ireland, the second largest bank in Ireland, bought Chase de Vere in 2000 for E160 million. The greatly reduced sale price represents the effect of the stock market slump in 2001.
The sale also includes Moneyextra Mortgages Limited, a mortgage broking subsidiary whose business is closely associated with Chase de Vere.
Roy Keenan, chief executive of Bank of Ireland UK Financial Services said, The sale of Chase de Vere is part of our strategy to focus on our core operations of business banking, consumer banking and mortgages using both the Bank of Ireland and the Bristol and West brands. In addition we are developing our joint venture with the UK Post Office, selling financial services products through their extensive branch network.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval from the FSA and is expected to be completed during March 2005.
Chase de Vere Financial Solutions is an independent financial adviser (IFA) covering private clients, employee benefits and online adviser business. It employs around 160 advisers and is based in Bath.