Lazard's UK chief executive was among the bankers called into action to advise Aldermore after the challenger bank today revealed it has received a £1.1bn takeover approach from a South African suitor.

Aldermore, one of the wave of banking startups created in the UK since the financial crisis, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2015, said in a statement that it had received an "indicative proposal" from financial services group FirstRand.