B&B shareholders face no compensation

Former shareholders of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) should not get any compensation after the troubled lender was divided and sold, an independent valuer says.

The nationalised bank was split between its into 'good' and 'bad' operations during the financial crisis, with the better savings division offloaded to Spanish giant Santander.

In a blow to former investors, independent valuer Peter Clokey of PricewaterhouseCoopers has now recommended the Treasury offer no compensation to shareholders.

B&B's shares closed at 20p in the final day of trading before nationalisation and break-up. The poor part of the lender stayed in Government control.

The B&B Shareholders Action Group plans to appeal against the decision by Clokey. The group had previously stated any valuation below 55p a share would be "tantamount to theft", the BBC says.

"Peter Clokey has today delivered a damning verdict on the rights of UK shareholders. This is a very sad day, not just for B&B shareholders but UK shareholders in general," the action group says.

The decision affects 935,000 investors.

Clokey says the bank would have entered administration without nationalisation, leaving nothing for shareholders.