Bank to dispose of 15 ESB outlets

BANK of Scotland Ireland (BOSI) is expected to sell up to 15 of the ESB retail outlets it bought earlier this year.

The bank, which had planned to convert the shops into branches, has found that some of the sites are unsuitable and between 10 and 15 will have to be shelved.

In March, Bank of Scotland bought the 54 ESB Shop Electric outlets, the outstanding loanbook and 100,000 customer accounts for €120 million.

The takeover heralded the bank’s first move into retail banking in Ireland and gave it a presence in every major town and city.

But a review of the property portfolio has identified some of the shops as not being in the right locations or the correct size for a branch.

The sell-off will have no impact on the price BOSI is paying the ESB.

It is not known if the shops will be sold as a going concern or simply closed and sites sold on.

Bank of Scotland had committed itself to offering the 450 ESB staff working in the shops the opportunity of moving to the bank and employees affected by the closure of the outlets will still be given a chance to move to BOSI.

The conversion of the remaining shops will begin later this year and the bank has set a goal of having 60 Irish branches in the next couple of years.

Bank of Scotland has expanded rapidly since entering the Irish market five years ago with the takeover of Equity Bank.

It followed this up with the acquisition of the State-owned ICC a year later.

Once it gets a foot on the high street, BOSI is expected to compete aggressively for a share of the consumer banking market as much of its focus in the past has been on business banking.

The bank is preparing to launch a number of new products in Ireland including current accounts, personal loans and credit cards. Its entry into the mortgage market some years ago forced its competitors to cut their interest rates.

The closure of the ESB Shop Electric outlets is due is retaining just two retail sites - one on Fleet St in Dublin and the other on Academy St in Cork.