Ulster Bank has extended the deadline for indicative bids for its Ulster Bank Investment Management (UBIM) subsidiary as a result of strong international interest. The bank has pushed the deadline out by a further two weeks to January 28th, with up to 30 institutions understood to have expressed an interest in buying UBIM. All of the Irish financial institutions are expected to make indicative bids, with European, British and US fund managers also evaluating the company.

The subsidiary is one of the Republic's leading investment management groups and is estimated to be worth around €114 million (£90 million), although it could fetch a substantially higher price given the high level of interest. UBIM manages more than €7 billion of assets for pension funds, charities and private investors, and has established a strong track record in terms of the level of returns it achieves for its customers.

Ulster Bank said the sale of UBIM was in line with the bank's desire to focus on retail and corporate banking.

UBIM is expected to make pre-tax profits of around €5.8 million this year, up from €3.5 million in 1999.