In a move that could rocket his Virgin Money brand to the High Street, Sir Richard Branson is making preparations for parallel bids in the billions of pounds for both Northern Rock in its entirety and 600 branches of another large personal and business bank account provider in the UK.
Looking to add a touch of ‘glamour’ to high street banking in the same way his Virgin empire sought to redefine the airline industry, Branson is will be attempting a buy-out of 600 Lloyds TSB branches as well as Northern Rock in its entirety. Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia remarked in a recent interview concerning the matter that the likelihood of both businesses being put up on the auction block sometime in the next month is high.
Northern Rock’s board of directors is understood to have recently met in order to have a discussion regarding ways to disentangle it from its status of being taxpayer-owned. Likewise Lloyd’s has no choice but to sell off 600 of its branches in order to comply with European court rulings penalising the bank for accepting a taxpayer bailout.
Lloyd’s has been keenly seeking a way to expedite a sale after the European banking commission made suggestions that the High Street financial services provider should sell off even more of its branches.
Virgin Money had actually been in negotiations with Northern Rock to buy the bank prior to its February 2008 nationalisation, said Ms Gadhia. Likewise Branson has taken meetings with António-Horta Osório, chief executive for Lloyd’s, in order to discuss possible offers.
Ms Gadhia added that Virgin Money wished to ensure they would be involved from day one once bidding has begun for both banks.