Wool man eyes Lloyds' Kiwi arm

IN a bizarre twist to Lloyds TSB's efforts to sell its New Zealand banking arm, a group of private investors said they intend to bid.

for the bank's National Bank of New Zealand unit.

Black Horse Holdings, a group led by Phil Verry, an accountant and businessman with experience in the wool industry from Waikato, south of Auckland, said there was growing anxiety about the implications of the business, National Bank of New Zealand, being sold to a foreign buyer. The bank is the country's largest.

Verry said he was relying on a groundswell of local support for his bid. 'Our research has confirmed there is enormous domestic support and goodwill for a Kiwi bid,' he said.

'Realistically, there is no time to assemble in advance the backing of brokers and institutional investors. We are certain they will be there when needed.

He did not detail how any bid would be finally structured, but said the group was looking for a 'partnering bank', maybe even Lloyds itself taking an 'early cash-out', followed by a partial float.

Four of New Zealand's top five banks are Australian-owned. While the Aussies are interested in the NBNZ, they face regulatory hurdles. No Australian bank has officially broken cover and announced its intention to bid although Westpac and ANZ are thought to be interested. NBNZ made a record net profit of NZ$503m (£180m) last year, and is worth about NZ$4bn.