HBOS is considering a £1.2bn bid for Quintain Estates & Development, the owner of Wembley Arena land on Greenwich Peninsula. Sunday Times. The Times

Last week HBOS bought an 11.9% stake in Quintain from Paul Kemsley, the Tottenham Hotspur director and property entrepreneur, and is thought to have hired Merrill Lynch to look at the possibility of a takeover.

If HBOS goes ahead, it is expected to take the company private and it is thought that any deal would have the co-operation of Quintain’s management, including Adrian Wyatt, the chief executive, and Nick Shattock, his deputy.

HBOS would probably bring a partner into the takeover deal.