NEWS from Barclays Bank

electrified the financial sector

yesterday when it revealed it was in takeover talks with the Woolwich, which would put a #5.3bn valuation on the mortgage bank.

The market took this as the starting pistol for consolidation within the industry, where the Alliance & Leicester and Abbey National are seen as the most

likely prey.

Woolwich shares jumped 72p to 341p, just short of the Barclays part-cash, part-paper bid of 349p.

This is made up of 164p in cash and 0.1175 of a Barclays share for each Woolwich share, with shareholders to retain the 4.4p interim dividend declared recently.

They will not be entitled to the Barclays interim dividend.

Barclays closed down 49p at 1615p after a 1556p low on a widespread feeling it was offering too much.

Alliance & Leicester, which is seen as the weakest player in the sector and unsuccessful in merger talks with both Woolwich and Bank of Ireland, was 31p better by the close at 530p, while Abbey National firmed 19p to 754p.

Barclays chief executive Matt Barrett said at the announcement of half-time figures last Thursday that he was intent on increasing Britain's fourth-largest bank's share of the mortgage market from 4% to 8%, and indicated that acquiring a mortgage bank would be one way to achieve that.

Woolwich has a 5.3% market share but has been gaining 6.2% of all new mortgages in the first six months, and that is growing.

That is partly due to its highly-regarded Open Plan financial product, which allows customers to offset credit balances against mortgage and other debts.

Woolwich is the acknowledged leader in Internet banking and is able to boast that it has never had a technical problem.

The acquisition would be earnings enhancing to Barclays after 2001 before accounting for goodwill write-off and restructuring charges, but including the benefit of synergies.

These could amount to up to #200m annually, according to

analysts.

Barclays has a base of 13

million customers, serviced through 1736 branches.

However, it has incurred public wrath through its aggressive

closure programme, particularly in rural areas.

Woolwich would bring in four million customers and 402 retail outlets, of which 19 are in Scotland.

It is expected that Edinburgh- born Woolwich chief executive Ian Stewart would join Barclays board, with even the suggestion that he could become Barrett's successor.

Woolwich's Open Plan has 290,000 customers and generates more than a third of its new UK mortgages on the Internet.

Barclays has 1.25 million Internet customers but suffered the embarrassment of having to close down an upgraded Internet service last month after customers were able to see each other's accounts.

This is the first expansionist move by the highly-colourful Irish-Canadian Barrett, who became chief executive last October.

Despite public relations disast-ers, which have included trying to introduce charges into the Link inter-bank cash dispensing network, Barrett has had a generally favourable City reception.

The #22bn Royal Bank of

Scotland acquisition of NatWest had been regarded as the last of the big UK bank mergers, but there has been an expectation that there would be cherry-picking of the mortgage banks.

Woolwich Building Society demutualised in 1997 at 330p, but recently shares have been as low as 243p.

This was on fears that press-ures are growing, due in part to market entrants, such as egg and Standard Life Bank, scooping up market share with little real regard for short-term profitability.

Barclays is seen as paying a full price for Woolwich at three times book value.

Andrew Hobson, at Capel Cure Sharp, said that it was buying the most technologically advanced bank, which was suited to Barclays.

James Hamilton, at broker Numis Securities, wondered why Barclays had to be so aggressive as the newsflow from the

mortgage banks was so negative.

As the average life of a mortgage is now less than six years, Barclays would have to move fast to recover the premium it is paying for Woolwich, either through pricing or selling additional

products to the prey's customers.

He added that Abbey National would have been more appropriate due to the cost-cutting potential of rationalising the branch network.

There is general market speculation that Lloyds TSB's retiring chairman Sir Brian Pitman would like to acquire Abbey National as his swansong and has the resources to bid up to #15bn.

This would give huge scope for cost-cutting, although shutting down large number of branches would be politically sensitive.

Royal Bank of Scotland's deputy executive chairman Sir George Mathewson is interested in buying a mortgage provider and Abbey National would probably be the most attractive target.

Alliance & Leicester, which is barely holding its mortgage

market share, was described by one analyst as ''deadish'' and is likely to suffer greater competitive pain than almost any other.

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