Two private equity groups have reportedly teamed up to mount a bid for Kensington, the Investec-owned specialist mortgage lender.
According to Sky news, US firms Blackstone and TPG will table a combined offer for the business ahead of a deadline towards the end of May.
The buyout giants are understood to be competing against at least three other bidders for Kensington, one of which is said to be Lonestar, a specialist US property investor and other names were previously thoguht to include Virgin Money and Goldman Sachs.
The auction of Kensington, which is being handled by Fenchurch Advisory, comes amid increasing signs of an overheating housing market in London and the south-east.
Investec’s UK specialist banking arm reported operating profits of £157.4m today, although the pre-2008 legacy business continues to return losses of over £100m to March 2014.
