The offer is for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of the bank, with this sum said to be approximately ?£1.1bn.

Under the terms of the offer, Aldermore shareholders will be entitled to receive 313p in cash for each ordinary share.

FirstRand announced that it was in talks with Aldermore regarding a takeover offer in October and said it would integrate its current UK retail and business/SME operations into Aldermore to form a separate pillar, with Phillip Monks, CEO of Aldermore (pictured above), leading the new combined UK business.

The Aldermore directors intend to recommend unanimously that Aldermore shareholders vote in favour of the scheme at the court meeting and the resolutions will be proposed at the general meeting.

“We are very pleased that the board of Aldermore – one of the UK's leading specialist lenders – will be recommending our offer,' said Johan Burger, CEO of FirstRand Ltd.

“The transaction is the latest step in our strategy of protecting and building shareholder value by achieving a more diversified revenue profile, and we believe it will provide the platform to fulfil our growth objectives in the UK.

“It will allow the FirstRand Group to allocate more financial resources to our operations in Africa, while diversifying earnings in the UK.'

Aldermore currently has 1,000 staff serving over 230,000 customers, with lending to small businesses and individuals totalling ?£8.4bn at the end of the third quarter of 2017.

“The offer reflects our strong track record of delivery and FirstRand's confidence in Aldermore to continue delivering on its sustainable growth strategy,' said Phillip.

“Through its own portfolio of leading financial services franchises, the FirstRand Group has demonstrated its ability to successfully integrate entrepreneurial businesses and we believe there is a strong strategic and cultural fit for customers, colleagues and wider stakeholders.

“With the backing of FirstRand Group's considerable resources and wider capabilities, we will be able to accelerate the delivery of our strategy and further expand the products and services we offer customers.

“Our vision has always been to bring more competition to UK banking, and the support of the FirstRand Group will enable us to continue to do just that.'