Alliance & Leicester

Alliance & Leicester plc

Company type	Public limited company
Industry	Banking and financial services
Predecessor	Alliance Building Society, Leicester Building Society
Founded	1985
Defunct	2011
Fate	Acquired by Santander Group; operations merged into Santander UK plc
Headquarters	Leicester , United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom, Isle of Man (international division)
Products	Banking, building society services, credit cards (later rebranded)
Parent	Santander Group (from 2008)

Alliance & Leicester plc was a UK-based banking institution and former building society, formed in 1985 through the consolidation of the Alliance Building Society and Leicester Building Society. It underwent demutualisation in 1997, subsequently listing on the London Stock Exchange. The firm was part of the FTSE 250 Index and maintained a position within the FTSE 100 Index from April 1997 until June 2008.

Amid difficulties triggered by the 2008 financial crisis, Alliance & Leicester was acquired by the Santander Group in October 2008. Its operations were merged into Santander UK plc by May 2010. The brand was fully absorbed and rebranded as Santander by the close of 2011. Meanwhile, its international division, Alliance & Leicester International located in Douglas, Isle of Man, continued under the original name until its integration into Santander UK in May 2013.

Origins

The Alliance & Leicester Building Society came into existence on 1 October 1985 following the merger between the Alliance Building Society (initially known as Brighton & Sussex Equitable Building Society) and Leicester Building Society. In July 1990, it expanded its services by acquiring Girobank, a significant provider of cash management solutions for government bodies and large enterprises, which also offered current accounts through the Post Office network.

Following the example set by institutions such as Halifax and Woolwich, Alliance & Leicester transitioned to a publicly traded company on 21 April 1997 via a stock market flotation. This move resulted in one-time payments up to £5,000 being distributed to members.

During the late 1980s through to the mid-1990s, its television marketing campaigns featured comedians Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, significantly boosting public awareness of the brand.

Acquisition

In November 2007, Alliance & Leicester secured a confidential £3 billion credit facility from HM Treasury aimed at preventing insolvency and averting a potential bank run. On 14 July 2008, its board endorsed a takeover proposal from Banco Santander valued at around £1.26 billion. Shareholders ratified the offer on 16 September 2008, with completion occurring on 10 October 2008, leading to its removal from the London Stock Exchange.

The bank’s operations were consolidated into Santander UK on 28 May 2010 after a Royal Courts of Justice ruling on 13 May 2010 under the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Until this integration, Alliance & Leicester functioned independently with its own banking licence while transitioning customer accounts onto the Partenon software platform. Abbey National and Bradford & Bingley savings divisions adopted Santander branding in January 2010, followed by Alliance & Leicester branches by year-end.

Services

Credit card products originally issued by Alliance & Leicester were rebranded under MBNA before evolving into Santander-branded credit cards managed by Santander Cards Limited.

Sponsorship

Between 2003 and 2007, Alliance & Leicester served as the main kit sponsor for English football club Leicester City.