JC Flowers plans UK 'supermutual'

US private equity group JC Flowers is lining up bids for at least four UK building societies as part of an ambitious plan to create a 'supermutual' that could be partially floated in London in five years.

Names in the frame are believed to be West Bromwich, Skipton, Norwich & Peterborough and Principality which combined have more than 1.7 million members, the Observer reports. Former Goldman Sachs banker Christopher Flowers, who founded the US private equity firm, is already acquiring a 40% stake in Kent Reliant, which has a membership of 180,000. Kent would be a platform for further UK expansion, with Flowers aiming to create a business unique to the UK but which mirrors the structure of Crédit Agricole, according to the Observer. The French institution is 60% owned by 39 retail co-op...