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Charter Court merger under investigation

The planned merger of Wolverhampton-based Charter Court Financial Services Group and OneSavings Bank is being investigated.

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Charter Court Financial Services is based at Broadlands, Wolverhampton

The Competition and Markets Authority is examining the £1.6 billion deal that would create a leading specialist lender.

OneSavings Bank is to acquire all the issued shares of Charter Court with 0.8253 new OneSavings shares exchanged for each Charter Court share.

This would see Charter Court shareholders owning about 45 per cent and OneSavings shareholders holding about 55 per cent of the new combined group, which would be led by current OneSavings boss Andy Golding.

The CMA is inviting comments by June 19. It is considering whether the merger might be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition.

Buy-to-let mortgage specialist Charter Court, which has its headquarters at Broadlands, employs around 600 in Wolverhampton and other offices around the country. It offers mortgages and savings accounts through its Exact Mortgage Experts, Precise Mortgages and Charter Savings Bank brands.

The merger had been expected to become effective in the third quarter of this year.

Charter Court Financial Services Group, which was formed in 2008, has four buildings on the business park at Broadlands.