The information on this page comes from the UK Activity Report.
Click here for further details

Abbey Abbey is to shed more than 50 jobs at its Carbrook office in Sheffield, in order to transfer the administration work for its e-commerce operation to Belfast. 17-Feb-2009 Abbey National is planning to expand its bank branch network from 700 to 1,000 by 2012, and is particularly interested in the Midlands and North East. 10-Dec-2007 Abbey is considering plans to close its call centre at Mercury House in Bournemouth with the loss of up to 125 jobs. 24-Aug-2007 Abbey National has sold part of its James Hay pensions administration business to a management buy-out for undisclosed terms. 12-Jul-2006 Abbey is to expand its premium banking call centre in Belfast, with the creation of 180 jobs by the end of the year. 20-Jun-2006 Resolution is to acquire the closed life funds of Abbey for £3.6bn, but its Albert Dock site in Liverpool will close with the loss of 120 jobs. 09-Jun-2006 Yorkshire Building Society is to acquire Abbey National's Sharesave business for undisclosed terms. 07-Jun-2006 Abbey is planning to expand its chain of 714 bank branches with between 60 and 100 new sites, and some branches are likely to be relocated. 15-May-2006 Abbey National is looking to shed between 1,000 and 2,000 jobs in its mortgage lending business this year, as part of an efficiency drive. 09-Feb-2006 Abbey is planning to close a financial services office on the Isle of Man early next year, with the loss of up to 140 jobs, in order to concentrate on an offshore centre in Jersey. 21-Nov-2005 Abbey National is considering plans to shed 2,500 more jobs than the previously-announced figure of 4,000, while call centres in India will close next year and the work transferred to Teesside, Glasgow and Milton Keynes. 28-Oct-2005 Abbey National is now planning to shed 4,000 jobs this year, rather than the 3,000 envisaged before its acquisition by Santander Central Hispano, with head office and back office staff expected to be worst hit. 11-May-2005 Abbey is to spend £8.5m rebranding its 726 branches to include the logo of its Spanish owner Santander Central Hispano, and also plans to increase the number of sales staff in branches by 30%. 28-Feb-2005 Abbey is considering plans to shed 85 IT jobs at its Mays Meadow call centre in Belfast. 10-Feb-2005 Abbey is to close two offices in Newport and Taunton next year with the loss of 226 jobs, in order to transfer small business administration work to a new centre in Glasgow. 27-Dec-2004 Abbey National is planning to shed up to 500 IT jobs in Milton Keynes next year, and about 100 jobs are expected to be outsourced to Isban. 22-Dec-2004 Abbey National is to be acquired by Santander Central Hispano, the Spanish bank, for £8bn. 27-Jul-2004 Abbey National is to sell its asset finance and leasing businesses to ING Lease UK, which will involve the transfer of about 243 staff. 18-Jun-2004 Abbey National is said to be planning to transfer billing and call centre operations to India with the loss of 400 jobs in Southampton and 100 jobs in Stockton-on-Tees. 18-May-2004 Abbey National is to close offices in Derby and Warrington with the loss of 400 jobs, while £25m will be invested in IT, training and sites in Belfast, Bradford, Glasgow, Milton Keynes and Sheffield. 15-Jan-2004 Abbey National is planning to close its Scottish Provident life insurance office in Edinburgh, and some of the 900 staff will relocate to Glasgow. 14-Jan-2004 Abbey National has sold its 41 private equity funds to Coller Capital for undisclosed terms. 12-Jan-2004 Abbey National has confirmed that a review is being undertaken of its Glasgow-based fund management division, which could lead to its closure with the loss of 170 jobs. 09-Jan-2004 Abbey National has sold Royal Saint Georges, its French mortgage business with 66 staff, to General Electric for £39m. 22-Dec-2003 Abbey National is considering plans to sell its Glasgow-based asset management business for about £30bn. 15-Dec-2003 Abbey National is planning a pilot project to transfer about 100 Scottish Provident data processing jobs from Edinburgh and Glasgow to India, and existing staff will be redeployed. 31-Oct-2003 Abbey National has announced plans to change its name to Abbey and to rebrand its branch network, as part of a £11m revamp of its corporate image. 24-Sep-2003 Abbey National is considering plans to close Scottish Provident International to new business, due to problems finding a buyer for the Isle of Man-based life assurer. 22-Sep-2003 Abbey National is to sell its mortgage operation in Italy to Unicredito for £46m, and is also in negotiations to sell a similar business in France. 18-Sep-2003 Abbey National is to close its Talorcan hedge fund business with the expected loss of up to 13 jobs, prompting speculation about the future of its asset management operation in Glasgow. 03-Sep-2003 Abbey National is to invest £5.5m in the expansion of its customer enquiries call centre in Belfast over the next two years, with the creation of about 150 jobs. 13-Aug-2003 Abbey National is to relocate its Cater Allen private banking office from Romford to Sheffield and Bradford next spring, which will involve the creation or transfer of up to 215 new jobs. 11-Jul-2003 Abbey National has raised £500m from the sale of debt to GE's European leveraged finance division. 27-Jun-2003 Abbey National is considering plans to outsource its call centre and administration operations to countries such as China and India. 19-Jun-2003 Abbey National is to close its First National Motor Finance subsidiary with the loss of 600 jobs in Redhill, Surrey. 09-May-2003 Abbey National has sold most of its £390m Australian project loan book to three banks for undisclosed terms, as part of a strategy to focus on its retail financial services business in the UK. 06-May-2003 Abbey National is asking 2,000 employees to reapply for their jobs, as part of a restructuring of its 743-strong branch network that will include the reintroduction of branch managers. 06-May-2003 Abbey National is to close most of its international life assurance operations to new business having failed to find a buyer, and the move will affect Dublin-based Scottish Mutual International and Scottish Provident Ireland. 30-Apr-2003 Abbey National is to close a mortgage processing office in Didsbury and a specialist banking branch in Manchester city centre this year, with the loss of 291 jobs. 14-Apr-2003 Abbey National is to shed about 720 of the 1,200 jobs in its London-based wholesale banking division over the next three years. 10-Apr-2003 Abbey National is looking to sell most of its wholesale banking operations, including the Porterbrook train leasing business and the Cater Allen offshore bank. 27-Feb-2003 Abbey National has sold most of its First National consumer credit business to GE Consumer Finance of the US for £848m. 05-Feb-2003 Abbey National is considering plans to sell off non-core operations in order to focus on UK personal financial services, and businesses under review include mortgage activities in France and Italy and life assurance in Dubai and Hong Kong. 02-Dec-2002 Abbey National is to create 40 new jobs at its banking call centre in Gateshead, in order to improve customer service levels. 29-Oct-2002 Abbey National is looking to sell its First National consumer credit business by the end of the year, for an estimated £800m. 23-Sep-2002 Abbey National is said to be planning to shed up to 3,000 of the 28,000 jobs in its banking business, and cost-cutting programmes include the outsourcing of non-core operations and a reduction in backroom staff. 16-Sep-2002 Abbey National is considering plans to sell its £850m portfolio of private equity investments in the UK, Europe and the US. 15-Jul-2002 Abbey National, the UK's sixth largest bank, is said to be facing the prospect of a takeover bid from National Australia Bank. 11-Jul-2002 Abbey National is expanding its Inscape wealth management service into the offshore market by opening an advice centre in Jersey, and additional centres are likely to follow in Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Hong Kong. 17-Jun-2002 Abbey National is to acquire a £133m commercial mortgage book from Portman Building Society, as part of a strategy to increase its share of the small business banking market. 27-Feb-2002 Abbey National is looking into the possibility of launching a national chain of solicitors if the Law Society votes to deregulate the market in March, while Tesco and Sainsbury are also keen to offer legal services in their stores. 28-Jan-2002 Abbey National is to invest £25m a year in improvements to its current account services, with the creation of 500 new jobs in Sheffield, Bradford and Manchester. 09-Jan-2002 Abbey National is to create 600 new jobs over the next 18 months in order to expand its small business banking division, including 500 branch-based managers and 50 sales staff for the First National leasing operation. 10-Dec-2001 Abbey National has set up four new companies to manage its branch networks in Belfast, Cardiff, Newcastle and Ealing, in an extension of its franchising experiment that will give more control to local bank managers. 24-Sep-2001 Abbey National has been approached by GE Capital and a number of other companies interested in buying its First National Retail Finance division, which is valued at about £250m. 10-Sep-2001 Abbey National is creating 15 new jobs in Chelmsford, as the town has been chosen as one of nine locations nationwide to act as an advice centre for its new Inscape investment management service. 27-Jun-2001 Abbey National is to acquire Fleming Premier Banking from JP Morgan Chase for £106m, and the business will be integrated with Cater Allen. 15-May-2001 Abbey National has bought International Equipment Management, the Dutch aircraft leasing company, from ING for £26m. 04-May-2001 Abbey National is to sell its credit card division to MBNA for £289m, but the cards will continue to carry the Abbey National logo and the bank will receive a commission for every account opened. 20-Mar-2001 Abbey National is forming a joint venture with Electronic Data Systems of the US to handle servicing of mortgages and personal loans, and Abbey will transfer 1,700 staff to the new business. 14-Feb-2001 Abbey National's First National Commercial Banking division has acquired the UK portfolio of investment property and nursing home mortgages owned by KBC of Belgium for £70m. 08-Feb-2001 Abbey National is to relocate a customer service centre from Milton Keynes to Bradford, where it will create about 200 jobs. 18-Jan-2001 Abbey National has awarded a £323m claims management outsourcing contract to Capita Group, and has also announced plans to withdraw from insurance underwriting. 11-Jan-2001 Abbey National is investing £55m in the launch of its new Inscape wealth management business, and expects to expand the operation into continental Europe. 15-Nov-2000 Abbey National and Bank of Scotland are in preliminary merger discussions that could lead to the creation of a £22bn banking group. 03-Nov-2000 Abbey National has announced a £457m deal with Mapeley Columbus for the sale and leaseback of its 722 branches and London head office. 20-Oct-2000 Abbey National is seeking a merger partner in continental Europe as it believes there is little scope for further consolidation in the UK banking market, and is particularly interested in Italy. 29-Sep-2000 Abbey National is planning to expand its business banking service, in response to the Competition Commission's investigation into the domination of the market by the big four high street banks. 26-Jul-2000 Abbey National is looking to raise about £460m by selling off its property portfolio, but would continue to occupy the network of branches and offices under a 20-year flexible contract. 17-Jul-2000 Abbey National is to test a franchise scheme in its bank branches, in order to share risk and profits with local branch managers and to respond to growing competition from internet banks. 03-Jul-2000 Abbey National is to shed 500 branch jobs, and the staff will be asked to reapply for jobs in management and insurance sales. 14-Apr-2000 Abbey National is considering plans to sell its wholesale banking operation, unless it is given a higher valuation by the market. 05-Apr-2000 Abbey National is said to be considering plans to buy the Porterbrook train leasing business from Stagecoach for about £1.3bn. 20-Mar-2000 Abbey National is planning to spend £200m on e-commerce over the next year, and has also announced the development of an internet bank called Cahoot. 18-Feb-2000 Abbey National is planning to launch low-cost flexible home loans, in an attempt to provoke a major shake-up of the mortgage market. 10-Feb-2000 Abbey National has awarded a £3m contract to David McLean to install cash machines at about 250 Shell petrol stations. 03-Feb-2000 Abbey National is to close its administrative banking centre in Billericay by the end of the year with the loss of up to 100 jobs. 29-Oct-1999 Abbey National is setting up a new office in Leeds to house the regional sales and operations teams of its First National Invoice Finance business. 12-Oct-1999 Abbey National is planning to launch an internet bank, and may also set up a private banking service under the Cater Allen brand name. 29-Jul-1999 Abbey National is to close about 700 counters in its chain of 800 bank branches over the next year, in order to free up space to install 500 help desks and more cash machines. 18-Jun-1999 Abbey National is to install 250 cash machines in Shell service stations, as part of a £150m expansion of its network. 25-May-1999 Abbey National is planning to relocate a number of departments from its head office in London's Baker Street to a larger office in Euston. 30-Apr-1999 Abbey National has opened a new regional headquarters in Bradford city centre, and now employs about 1,800 staff in the city. 29-Apr-1999 Abbey National is to expand its call centre in Belfast with the creation of 236 jobs. 30-Mar-1999 Abbey National is to recruit an extra 80 staff at its mortgage call centre at Teesdale, Thornaby, because administration of its bonus postal account is being transferred from Belfast. 22-Jan-1999 Abbey National is to create 200 insurance jobs by expanding its operations at the Brunswick Business Park in Liverpool. 14-Jan-1999 Abbey National is planning to move out of its headquarters in Baker Street, London, and is said to be in discussions with British Land about building a £100m replacement on the Euston Road. 12-Nov-1998 Abbey National has bought the retirement planning division of Rea Brothers for an initial £0.5m. 05-Nov-1998 Abbey National Financial Products is setting up an equity derivatives desk. 17-Oct-1998 Abbey National is setting up a £30m software factory in Milton Keynes, which will be run by Unisys and will aim to ensure that its systems are free from the year 2000 bug. 22-Jul-1998 First National Vehicle Holdings, the Abbey National subsidiary, is acquiring Fleet Management Services, the fleet car hire company, for undisclosed terms. 21-Jul-1998 Abbey National has announced the sale of its Spanish operations to Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo for about £120m, due to recurring losses. 23-Apr-1998 Abbey National is considering plans to sell its Spanish mortgage finance and loans business following heavy losses, but says it has no intention of withdrawing from France or Italy. 03-Apr-1998 Abbey National, the bank, is considering plans for an enhanced dividend strategy and a share buy-back in order to prevent unwanted takeover approaches. 17-Nov-1997 Abbey National is to set up a £5.8m telephone service and software development centre in Belfast, with £3.3m of government aid, creating 438 jobs. 05-Nov-1997 Abbey National is to start charging some of its Instant Plus account-holders who make transactions inside branches rather than using cash machines and phone banking. 03-Sep-1997 Abbey National is to open a call centre in Glasgow in November, creating 170 jobs. 05-Aug-1997 Abbey National has stated its intention to look for more acquisitions, but has rejected the concept of merging with another institution that would take it into areas of business that it is trying to avoid. 30-Jul-1997 Abbey National is acquiring a 5% stake in Dah Sing Financial Holdings, the Hong Kong financial services company, for £30m as its aims to expand its Asian business. 21-Jan-1997 Abbey National is planning a new mortgage service centre in Stockton-on-Tees, with the creation of up to 200 jobs. 11-Jan-1997 The nine international gas companies planning the gas pipeline from the UK to Belgium have agreed a £450m leasing deal with Abbey National to finance the construction. 30-May-1996 Abbey National has said it is starting to look for potential acquisitions. 17-Oct-1995 The information on this page comes from the UK Activity Report. Click here for further details Copyright UK Business Park 1995-2009