Barclays has taken over Woolwich, NatWest was the subject of a hostile takeover battle, while Abbey National took over Scottish Provident, a mutual insurance company, and Lloyds TSB bought Scottish Widows.

BBC: Third time lucky for Bank of Scotland

Throw in a Friends Provident Trophy final defeat by Essex and you have a season that perfectly encapsulates the see-saw nature of the county game.

BBC: Jones hopes Kent can bounce back

In addition, Silver Bay has entered into contribution and merger agreements through which it will acquire, concurrent with the closing of the offering, an initial portfolio of more than 3, 100 single-family residential properties through entities associated with Two Harbors Investment, a publicly traded REIT (TWO), and Provident Real Estate Advisors LLC, a private capital management firm, in exchange for equity interests in Silver Bay or its operating subsidiary, or cash.

FORBES: Silver Bay Realty Trust Announces Launch of IPO