Representatives of Olivant, one of the consortiums bidding for Northern Rock, will meet executives of the Newcastle-based bank this week as the Rock continues to weigh up competing bids for the troubled company.

The bank’s board and its advisers held a telephone conference yesterday to discuss Olivant’s proposal, after the consortium led by Luqman Arnold, the former Abbey National chief executive, revealed further details of its bid last Friday. Sources said that a decision on the offer had not been made. Virgin Group is the Rock board’s preferred bidder, but Mr Arnold’s proposal is favoured by shareholders because it attributes a higher value to their holdings. The Government had hoped to announce the winning bid by Christmas, but the banks funding the offers have not yet committed to providing the £10 billion to £15 billion needed by the suitors to pay off a large chunk of the Rock’s borrowings from the Bank of England. Mr Arnold said that he was confident of raising the cash. Olivant offers taxpayers a share in Rock revival

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