Clifford Chance advises as Co-operative Bank announces plan to find buyer
Magic circle firm advising troubled bank as it kicks off sale process
February 13, 2017 at 05:56 AM
3 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC) is advising the Co-operative Bank as the troubled bank kicks off the process to find a buyer.
Corporate partner Lee Coney is leading the magic circle firm's team advising the bank, alongside capital markets partner Iain Hunter, corporate partner Hilary Evenett and banking and finance partner Simon Gleeson.
In a statement, Co-op Bank CEO Liam Coleman said: "Having concluded our annual planning review, the board has decided to begin a process to sell the bank, and also to consider alternative options to build our capital position for the future.
"This is about the best route forward to deliver the next phase of the bank's turnaround plan. No outcome has been decided yet and a sale is, of course, dependent on agreeing an offer that is right for our customers and other stakeholders."
CC has an established relationship with the Co-op Bank, having been appointed to its inaugural legal panel in September 2015. CC advised the bank that year in relation to an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority, after the bank breached stock market rules.
The bank received a censure from the FCA but escaped a fine because of its financial position.
Other firms on the Co-op Bank's panel include Allen & Overy, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Mishcon de Reya, Bates Wells Braithwaite, Hogan Lovells, Pinsent Masons, TLT, Eversheds, DLA Piper and Matthew Arnold Baldwin.
The establishment of the panel marked the first time the bank had put together its own set of firms since its split from the wider Co-operative Group in 2013. The group has retained a shareholding of 20% in the bank.
The Co-op Bank's legal function is overseen by former CMS Cameron McKenna lawyer Brona McKeown, who was appointed general counsel and company secretary in December 2013. She reports to group chief executive Niall Booker.
In 2013, the bank announced that it would divide its in-house legal team into two separate functions, following its split from Co-op Group and the transfer of ownership to a consortium of hedge funds including Aurelius and Silver Point.
Eversheds litigation and dispute partner James Southworth served as interim head of legal at the Co-op Bank for around a year from January 2014, before returning to the firm in a full-time role.
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