British industrialist to buy UK subsidiary of Nigeria’s Diamond Bank

GFG Alliance executive chairman and British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta is set to acquire Nigeria-based Diamond Bank’s British subsidiary Diamond Bank (UK) in an attempt to expand involvement in regulated financial services and banking sector.

The entrepreneur announced that a subsidiary of his family’s Wyelands Trust has entered into an agreement to acquire Diamond Bank UK.

The acquisition has been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria but requires approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

The proposed acquisition, if successful, will be Gupta’s second acquisition in the financial services sector following his initial successful period of ownership of Wyelands Bank, acquired in 2016.

Wyelands Bank addresses market gaps in funding for trade and working capital solutions to support UK industrial companies. The new bank, to be named British Commonwealth Trade Bank (BCTB), will complement the effort.

Gupta said: “Finance is the life blood of our economy. Our first bank, Wyelands Bank, saw a gap in effective financial servicing for mid-sized UK industrial companies targeting developed countries worldwide and, after a successful first year, is now well on its way to becoming a leading institution in this market segment.

“The acquisition of BCTB, with its particular global networks, breadth of experience and specialist expertise in developing economies, will enable us to focus on a very different market gap; providing tailor-made financial solutions that enable UK businesses to access specific fast-growing markets, especially within the Commonwealth.”

GFG Alliance is an international group of businesses catering to mining, energy generation, metals and engineering sectors.