Northern Rock is expected to try again to find a buyer after it was bailed out by the Bank of England and depositors continued to withdraw their savings from over the weekend. The Sunday Telegraph. Financial Times. The Observer. The Sunday Times

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Adam Applegarth, chief executive of Northern Rock, has made a direct appeal for a white knight takeover bid, amid mounting speculation that the struggling bank is preparing to break itself up.

He said: ‘Our share price has come off 30 per cent. So corporate activity is definitely not off the agenda. You have got to be more vulnerable if your share price has come down. But I guess it’s up to the bidders to make a bid.

The Sunday Times reported that Lloyds TSB was asked by Northern Rock to mount an eleventh-hour rescue takeover of the Newcastle-based mortgage lender. The two banks held detailed talks, but the takeover was blocked by the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority. Northern Rock then had no choice but to ask the Bank for an injection of funds.