Metro Bank, the high street lender, has put itself up for sale and appointed Morgan Stanley to seek bids.
The bank said it was carrying out a strategic review of ways to speed up growth, including a formal sale process.
It is not in talks with any potential buyer and has not received an approach.
Metro said it remained highly confident in its prospects as an independent bank and would keep following its plan if no deal emerges.
The board said its decision was unanimous.
Turnaround complete
The sale process comes three years after Metro was rescued in a £925 million deal that left Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski with a stake of about 53%.
Metro said it had completed a substantial transformation and now had strong operating momentum.
It made record profits in 2025 and says it has the lowest cost of deposits of any UK high street bank.
The bank reaffirmed its guidance for a return on tangible equity, a key measure of bank profitability, of more than 13% in the fourth quarter.
It expects that return to rise above 15% next year and above 18% in 2028.
Lending to businesses and specialist mortgage customers rose 37% in the year to the end of September.
Metro's shares jumped 16.5% to 178p after its third-quarter update last week, valuing the bank at about £1.16 billion.
Bidders stay anonymous
The Takeover Panel has agreed that bidders taking part in the sale process can remain anonymous.
They will also not face the usual 28-day deadline to make a firm offer or walk away.
Interested parties must sign confidentiality and standstill agreements before receiving information about the business.
Citigroup and RBC Capital Markets are joint financial advisers.
