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Virgin Money confirms IPO plans and looks to raise £150m
Virgin Money Holdings has confirmed its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange, as yet another “challenger” bank looks to go public.
The retail bank expects to raise £150m from its initial public offering (IPO), and will use £50m of the proceeds to complete a payment owing to the UK government.
Each of the company's 2,800 employees will be issued with £1,000 worth of shares. Retail buyers will be excluded from purchasing shares in the IPO.
Last week another challenger bank, Aldermore, announced its plans for an IPO and expects to raise £75m, while Lloyd’s floated a chunk of shares in TSB in June.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group owns 47 per cent of the Virgin Money, with 45 per cent owned by US firm Wilbur Ross.
CEO of Virgin Money, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, said:
Over the last three years we have transformed our business. We have expanded our product range, increased our customer numbers, grown our balance sheet and enhanced our profitability.Our decision to take the business public marks just how far the company has come.We look forward to being a listed company and remain committed to delivering positive outcomes for all of our stakeholders.Our capability to deliver growth at meaningful scale, the quality of our balance sheet and our absence of legacy issues makes us stand apart from other banks, and these strengths give us the potential to deliver ongoing returns to our shareholders through both capital growth and progressive dividend payments.