Deutsche Bank, which has been heavily involved in various bailouts and proposed takeovers in the UK banking sector over the past three years, has won the mandate to advise on the potential privatisation of Northern Rock in the most significant piece of work handed out by UK Financial Investments yet.

Northern Rock was nationalised in March 2008, after an aborted effort by the government to sell it to a private buyer. Since then, the bank has been split into a good bank, and a bad bank, renamed Northern Rock Asset Management.