Lloyds Banking Group has reached agreement to sell 632 branches to the Co-operative Group in a deal worth up to £750m (€955m).
The part-nationalised bank, which is offloading the branches to meet European Union rules on state aid following its Government bailout, hopes to complete the sale by the end of November next year.
Under the deal, the Co-operative will pay £350m (€446m) initially and a further potential £400m (€509m) based on performance until 2027 – but the price is far short of the £1.5bn (€1.9bn) price tag first mooted.
The Treasury welcomed the announcement, which it said formed part of a raft of measures to reform the banking system and improve competition.
