Redwood Bank is reportedly set to make its debut on listed public markets after agreeing a reverse takeover deal with R8 Capital Investments.
The cash shell announced on Monday it had agreed to buy the challenger bank’s parent company Redwood Financial Partners.
The deal will see RFP sold for more than £50million, which will be paid in R8 shares.
The cash shell reported that the deal will be more than £50million in shares that would consist of a reverse takeover
London-listed R8 has applied for its shares to be suspended pending the publication of a prospectus or an announcement that the deal will not go ahead.
The group also intends to carry out a contemporaneous fundraising to be contributed to the bank as tier 1 regulatory capital.
The move opens the door for the specialist business bank, which launched in 2017, to go public on the London Stock Exchange, according to reports.
According to Sky News, City sources said that Jonathan Rowland had identified R8 as the ideal vehicle through which to take Redwood Bank public and enable it to acquire other lenders and loan books.
One analyst said Mr Rowland’s timing could prove opportune amid an expected wave of consolidation in the UK banking sector.
R8, which was previously known as Mode Global Holdings, initially traded as a cryptocurrency until around January of this year.
Rowland and his father David, who is famous for reportedly bankrolling Prince Andrew, lost millions on the cryptocurrency venture.
As a result, Rowland chose to wind down what was then known as Mode, a Bitcoin app he founded, after failing to secure the money it needed to survive.
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