The takeover of Virgin Money by Nationwide has been completed, the leading building society has announced.
After getting court approval at the end of last week, the £2.9bn deal has now been made effective, with the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Virgin Money now owned by Nationwide. The deal will bring together Britain’s fifth and sixth largest retail lenders, creating a combined group with around 24.5m customers, more than 25,000 staff and nearly 700 branches.
Nationwide has previously said that it would retain the two brands and phase out Virgin Money over the next six years. It has also said it wasn’t looking to cut staff at Virgin Money’s main sites in Newcastle and Glasgow in the short term.
Virgin Money chief executive David Duffy has stepped down to be replaced by Chris Rhodes, who was formerly Nationwide’s chief finance officer.
Debbie Crosbie, chief executive of Nationwide, said: “Nationwide is now a stronger mutual and able to deliver even greater value through our unique branch promise, leading customer satisfaction, and competitive savings and lending rates. All Virgin Money profits will be retained for the benefit of customers and, for the first time in the UK, a full service business bank will be part of a large and modern mutual.”
Chris Rhodes, new chief executive at Virgin Money, said: “This is the start of an exciting new chapter for Virgin Money as it becomes part of Nationwide, creating the UK’s second-largest provider of mortgages and savings accounts.
“The combination will be a mutual with a wider range of products and able to invest more in customer service. We’re excited about our future as two purpose-driven businesses with a shared goal of supporting our customers, colleagues and communities.”