B&B 'faces fee for failed deal'

Bradford & Bingley's deal with TPG fell through at the last minute

Bradford & Bingley is set to pay a "success fee" to its advisers despite the failure of a rescue deal with a US private equity group, a report says.

As well as its basic fee, B&B will pay Goldman Sachs an additional amount on the completion of a new funding package, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Goldman Sachs was behind plans for B&B to raise £400m with the sale of a 23% stake to Texas Pacific Group (TPG).

But the deal broke down, forcing B&B to sell £400m of shares in a rights issue.

News of the change of plans led to shares in the troubled lender falling more than 18% on Friday, dipping below the rights issue price level.

A rights issue is when a company offers shares at a discount to existing investors, giving them the opportunity to increase their holdings and raise money for the company to use to shore up its balance sheet.

Buy to let

The group is looking to raise money as it has been hit by the global credit crisis and a sharp downturn in the property market.

Meanwhile, further reports suggest that the bank's four biggest shareholders - Standard Life, Insight, Legal & General and M&G - want investment group Resolution to return with a rescue deal.

But the Independent on Sunday reported that Clive Cowdery, head of the fund, had turned down their advances.

Last month Resolution offered to pump £400m into the bank as part of a wider £2bn scheme to breathe life into the UK's smaller banks and lenders hit by the credit crunch.

However, B&B rejected the plan at the time claiming it would lead to Resolution effectively taking over the bank.

B&B - one of the UK's largest buy-to-let mortgage lenders - was unavailable to comment on the claims.

The reports come days ahead of the firm's extraordinary general meeting when executive chairman Rod Kent is widely expected to face calls for his resignation from smaller shareholders over his handling of the problems at the bank.

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