A pair of investment giants, who have previously jointly acquired a minority stake in the Co-operative Bank, have entered the race to buy a large stake in one of Britain's biggest independent mortgage lenders, according to reports.
Bain Capital and JC Flowers have hired bankers at Morgan Stanley to work on a bid to invest in Cheshire-headquartered Together Financial Services, Sky News has said.
The move comes as a bid is also being put together by a separate consortium comprising Centerbridge Partners and Bayview Asset Management, a US-based investor in mortgages and consumer credit.
READ MORE: Together 'robustly profitable' after securing £2.3bn boost
It is expected that final offers will be tabled next month for a stake of up to 40% which would value the group at about £1.7bn.
Bain Capital's portfolio includes the likes of Canada Goose, Virgin Voyages and Esure.
JC Flowers has also invested in Interactive Investor and First Bank.
Together was founded in 1974 by Henry Moser and has its head office in Cheadle.
Together recently said it remains "robustly profitable" after raising and refinancing £2.3bn since January as it revealed the results from its third quarter, the six months to March 31, 2022.
The group's pre-tax profits dipped from £39.8m to £37.5m while its loan book increased from £3.9bn at March 31, 2021, to £4.8bn.
Its average monthly loan origination totalled £234.7m, up 87.1%, while Interest receivable and similar income totalled £98.7m, up 9.8%.
Together declined to comment when contacted by BusinessLive.
