CVC has joined forces with financial services specialist JC Flowers on a potential bid for Aldermore, the UK specialist bank that South Africa's FirstRand is looking to offload, Reuters reported. The UK's Metro Bank and Lloyds have previously been reported by Sky News as possible suitors. First Rand has asked prospective buyers to submit non-binding offers, with sources pointing to a deadline this week and the seller expecting indicative bids by the end of the month.

The sale stems from a costly retreat, as First Rand said in April it planned to exit the small specialist British bank, blaming the UK's motor finance redress scheme, having raised provisions for mis-sold motor loans to £750m. On valuation, analysts at RBC this month put Aldermore at about £1.35bn excluding its motor finance business, rising to £1.45bn with that unit included. The process underscores a broader reshaping of the UK banking landscape, as specialist and mid-sized lenders that have struggled to compete with larger incumbents become consolidation targets.

Recent examples cited by Reuters include Nationwide's £2.9bn purchase of Virgin Money in 2024 and Santander's takeover of TSB in 2025.