Alliance & Leicester takeover given the go-ahead

Shareholders in Alliance & Leicester today approved its takeover by Spain’s Banco Santander after being told the deal would provide “certainty and stability” amid the global credit crunch.

A&L’s acting chairman Roy Brown told shareholders attending an extraordinary general meeting in Birmingham that the £1.3bn (€1.6bn) takeover by Santander was in their best interests given the current market turmoil.