LLOYDS in Alton High Street, one of the oldest banks in the town, is to close in a sell-off deal that could see the building reopen under a different banking name.

By 2013 Lloyds customers in Alton can expect to see their bank change hands and their accounts sold off as part of a newly created Verde Bank.

Contenders vying to take over the Verde business, which could net Lloyds between £1.5bn and £2bn, may include the Co-op Bank, with some mention also of the relative newcomer, Virgin Money.

Alton is one of three Lloyds TSB branches being disposed of in Hampshire after an EU ruling that Lloyds would have to sell off more than 600 of its branches in return for state aid received in 2008.

For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.