
Saga in talks with NatWest over personal banking tie-up
The group, which offers cruises through to insurance services for people over 50, said a savings offering would be the first product set to launch under the tie-up.
It said: 'This partnership would combine NatWest's scale and banking capabilities with our customer insight and marketing strengths and support our ambition to continue growing our money business.'
'Further updates will follow in due course,' according to the group.
The discussions come after London-listed Saga struck a 20-year partnership for motor and home insurance with Belgian firm Ageas late last year, while also agreeing to sell its underwriting business Acromas to the group.
The sale is expected to completed by July 31.
In its update on Tuesday, Saga said demand for holidays remained robust, with booking revenues up 14% and passengers numbers 13% higher than a year earlier.
Saga's ocean and river cruise division enjoyed 'another strong start to the year', with its load factor – how well it fills its cruises – up year-on-year at 95% and 93% respectively.
Mike Hazell, group chief executive of Saga, said: 'Saga has started the financial year on a positive note, with all our businesses performing well and in line with expectations.
'Looking ahead, we are focused on continuing to grow our travel and money businesses, while successfully transitioning to our new simplified insurance model.
'We are progressing well with our medium-term plans and the potential new partnership with NatWest is another good example of this.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The great currency exchange rip-off: Our shocking investigation reveals the sneaky airport tricks that are costing you money... and what you must do to get the best rates
Currency firms are shortchanging travellers by as much as €150 on every £500 exchanged at airports by failing to be clear about just how poor the rates are. A Money Mail investigation found it is incredibly difficult to obtain the exchange rate at bureau de changes at airports across Britain.


BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Town centre parking spaces in Camberley could be lost to developer
Hundreds of town centre parking spaces could be lost to a developer as part of plans to revamp a railway redevelopment of the station in Camberley, Surrey, will include a new concourse as well as housing and commercial space, but a lack of parking provision could potentially hold up the a result, developers hope to rent up to 210 spaces in the town's Main Square car park – more than a quarter of its 770 capacity. Kel Finan-Cooke, Surrey Heath Borough Council's portfolio holder for property and economic development, said the move would "deliver much-needed income to the council and may unlock part of the borough's future housing supply". "It could also facilitate improvements to the station itself," he added."Analysis of the demand for car parking spaces in Camberley town centre has shown that, if this scheme went ahead, it would still only be on very rare occasions that drivers who want to use Main Square would have to park in Knoll Road or elsewhere."If approved, the developer would take up the top two floors over three stages, between 2029 and 2037, in line with any future development of the site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Jonny Cope, Conservative councillor for St Paul's who chairs the audit, standards and risk committee, said: "It's not a surprise because it's in the local plan but it shows the way things are going in Camberley with the expectation on housing provision under this Labour government."Leasing car parking spaces to a developer is mildly concerning to what is coming in the town."The council is in a difficult position because we are in a climate where places like Surrey Heath are expected to provide a lot more housing than they were two years ago."A decision on the car park's future will be made at Surrey Heath's executive committee meeting on 19 August.


The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Carmaker urged to address ‘serious concerns' over mass Citroën recall in UK
The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, has expressed 'serious concerns' about Citroën's handling of a safety recall that has left thousands of Britons unable to drive their cars. In June the car brand's parent company, Stellantis, issued an immediate and rare 'stop-drive' order for certain models because of a potentially fatal airbag safety fault. The safety alert impacted owners of its Citroën and DS Automobiles-branded cars, with 120,000 vehicles affected in the UK. In the letter to Eurig Druce, UK group managing director of Stellantis, Alexander said that the 'level of disruption experienced by UK motorists – particularly the most vulnerable – is unacceptable'. Alexander urged the company to take 'immediate steps' to improve the recall process. This meant ensuring all affected owners are 'provided with viable alternatives', whether through courtesy cars, financial compensation or at-home repairs. In the letter, first reported by the PA news agency, the minister said the existing arrangements were 'not meeting expectations'. She had received reports from MPs and their constituents that detailed distressing experiences and inadequate support with alternative transport arrangements. The consumer group Which? recently described Stellantis's handling of the recall as 'chaotic'. It said it had heard from 'many distressed drivers' – including a woman caring for her terminally ill husband who needed to get to hospital appointments – who were incurring significant expenses for hire cars, taxis or insurance fees. While Stellantis had promised to minimise the burden on consumers the 'execution of this recall has exposed significant gaps in customer support and transparency', Alexander said. Cars equipped with Takata airbags are being recalled because chemicals in the inflators may deteriorate over time, which could cause the bag to rupture. No incidents have been reported in the UK, but Stellantis issued the stop-drive order across Europe after a woman in France was killed when her airbag exploded. Driving a car with a stop-drive recall can invalidate your insurance, and it is illegal for a private seller to sell a car with a recall without disclosing it first. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Stellantis insisted that Citroën was 'fully engaged' in maximising the daily number of cars that can have their airbags replaced, adding that its Peugeot network is now authorised to also carry out the work. To date more than 72,000 vehicles have had replacement airbags fitted and Stellantis expects the majority of vehicles to be repaired by the end of September, with any remaining cases handled within weeks. Stellantis explained that with such a large number of vehicles affected it was 'inevitable' that customers could be inconvenienced in the short term. 'For each and every customer, we discuss options to support mobility. These options include replacement airbags at a dealership or at home, a courtesy car, support for other mobility options and recovery. We give priority to those with the most urgent needs.'