Halifax estate agency sold for £1

Loss-making Halifax estate agency has 218 offices, 93 of which are franchises. All 121 Halifax banking counters situated in the estate agents are set to close in early 2010. Branches will be rebranded as one of LSL's existing brands: Your Move, Reeds Rains or Intecounty. Following the sale, Lloyds says 1,050 employees will be transferred to LSL, with 360 full-time positions going as part of the 460 losses from among the counter staff. The company says compulsory redundancies would be a last resort. Lloyds said the decision followed a strategic review, "which concluded that an...