The Bank of Butterfield yesterday announced that it has put in an offer for a top-shelf private London bank with a long list of well-heeled clients for nearly $100 million.

Bermuda's oldest bank has made a bid for Leopold Joseph Holdings Plc, which, founded in 1919 and is the bank of choice for the rich and famous including the Rolling Stones and Cat Stevens.

“It is a good fit for us,” said Alan Thompson, president and chief executive officer of Bank of Butterfield, adding that it was good for shareholder value and good for the company. “We have the same core values, and that is important.”

But the bank's management yesterday remained coy about whether this latest acquisition - the fourth in the past four months - would be their last.

The offer, for ?51.1 million cash ($94.5 million) is still to get regulatory and shareholder approval in London but has been backed by management.

If it gets the green light it will bring the number of staff globally at Bank of Butterfield to over 1,500 as well as a long list of wealthy clients.

The deal, if approved, will not only bring in 3,500 clients and 120 staff, but will also make Bank of Butterfield a direct competitor of the Queen's bank, Coutts and Co., and will give the Bermuda bank plush offices in the City of London, the financial district in London.

The London bank, which also has offices in Guernsey, was put up for sale in September, and a rigorous bidding and auction process with more than 30 companies after the prize, Bank of Butterfield appears to have won out. At the time Leopold Joseph, which was floated in 1971, said it did not have the resources to pursue opportunities as an independent entity.

Yesterday Bank of Butterfield offered ?9.50 per share which is up 11 percent on the closing price on Tuesday for Leopold Joseph and 44 percent more than the price that was talked about last September.

Robin Herbert, chairman of Leopold Joseph said: “Following an extensive strategic review, the board of directors of Leopold Joseph believe that the offer by Bank of Butterfield represents the most attractive means of realising value for Leopold Joseph's shareholders.”

He added in a statement that the board of directors believed that the deal “will be a good outcome” for Leopold Joseph's clients and its employees as well as for shareholders.

He said: “Leopold Joseph and Bank of Butterfield share similar cultures and values, being strongly relationship driven and committed to highly personal service. Consequently, the directors unanimously recommend shareholders to accept the offer.”

The bank has discreetly looked after the money of the wealthy for decades and was the bank of choice for the showbiz set in the 1960s, according to the London Evening Standard.

Mr. Thompson said that because of the value of the Leopold Joseph name, Bank of Butterfield would be keeping the name and adding Bank of Butterfield to the nameplates.

“Leopold Joseph is a good brand name and obviously our objective is to preserve the value and Leopold Joseph has value in the market,” said Mr. Thompson. “Private banks all have their own niche markets, based on customers and management, they are not identical by any means but it is the same basic approach.” Independent private banks have recently in Britain been bought out after finding it hard to survive without the resources offered by the larger banks. Even Coutts was bought up by a bigger parent company recently, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Cater Allen, part of the Abbey National.

When asked what Bank of Butterfield will give to the London private banking client already with Leopold Joseph, Mr. Thompson was upbeat about being able to keep hold of the bank's wealthy customers.

“They have historically provided a high level of personalised service, at least better than their competitors, and it is our intention to continue that high level of service,” he said. “This is consistent with our model for private banking and in that area.

“It is our belief that we will be able to continue that high level of service and you don't give them any reason to leave.

“Plus we are actually are a bigger bank, a stronger balance sheet, better capital rates etc., so from that perspective it is a positive.”

But he added that it was key to be able to retain their key employees that deal with customers, and Bank of Butterfield would work with management team to make sure that they are retained.

“It all goes back to a level of service at the end of the day,” said Mr. Thompson. “Private banking customers have high expectations for sure. They have been meeting it and we will continue that.”

Richard Ferrett, chief financial officer at Bank of Butterfield, said that the new acquisition is different from the three banks bought in the past 12 months, as they had been forays into new countries.

“It is an expansion of our operations in London and in Guernsey, from there it is different from going into a brand new jurisdiction,” he said. “The other three were different because they were in new jurisdictions, Bahamas and Barbados, this is just a continuation of our existing business model.”

Mr. Ferrett said he himself banked with Coutts in the UK, and that bank had a different focus to Leopold Joseph.