Virgin out of RBS race; Harrods sold - papers

Virgin Money has been dropped from the race to buy up 318 RBS branches, sources familiar with the matter said at the weekend.

Part of Richard Branson's business conglomerate, Virgin had been one of four remaining bidders for what could rank as Britain's sixth biggest bank, in a deal expected to fetch more than £1bn, Reuters reports.

The three bidders remaining are Spain's Santander, widely seen as the front runner, BBVA, and National Australia Bank.

The branches of the 83% state-owned RBS are up for sale in of a series of forced sales to comply with European Union rules on state aid.

Virgin's plans for the branches, which are seen by the government as the potential platform to build a major competitor for Britain's major high street lenders, had not included closures or job cuts. Its offer, though, was lower, one of the sources said,

"Ultimately, it came down to money," the source said.

Virgin, granted a full banking license earlier this year, is now expected to return to its organic growth plans.

The RBS network would provide a foothold in banking for small and medium-sized businesses.US bank wants to target rural Britain. Read more...

A US BANK has applied for a banking licence to open ten branches in Britain later this year, according to reports.

New Century Bank, which provides mortgages, loans and personal accounts, is waiting for approval from the FSA to allow it to take deposits in Britain.

The bank is run by financial heavyweight Jay Sidhu, known for building up Sovereign Bancorp into one of America's largest providers of savings and loans before selling it to Spanish banking giant Santander.

New Century is looking to focus on rural areas in Britain and aims to sign up customers who are disgruntled with existing high street banks. Read more...

HARRODS HAS BEEN sold by Mohamed al Fayed for £1.5bn to a buyer understood to be the Qatari royal family.

Ken Costa, chairman of Lazard International, the investment bank advising the family trust on the deal, had just confirmed the sale to Sky News's city editor Mark Kleinman over the weekend.

Mr Kleinman said that the Qatari royal family had made an approach for the Knightsbridge store several weeks ago but Mr al Fayed rejected the offer.

However the owner of Fulham FC had reconsidered the approach. Ken Costa sent a statement to Sky News which said: "After 25 years as chairman of Harrods, Mohamed al Fayed has decided to retire and to spend more time with his children and grandchildren. Read more..