Virgin Money swallowed up by Nationwide as top boss exits
The boss of Virgin Money is set to depart the firm later this years as the UK bank fully consolidates into the Nationwide umbrella.
Chris Rhodes took the reins at Virgin Money following its acquisition by Nationwide in late 2024. Before this post, Rhodes served as finance boss at the UK’s largest building society for over five years.
On Tuesday, Nationwide revealed Rhodes would retire in September 2026.
Dame Debbie Crosbie, boss of Nationwide, said Rhodes “steadied and strengthened the Virgin Money business” over the last 18 months.
The building society behemoth agreed a deal for the then FTSE 250-listed Virgin Money in March for around £2.9bn. The firm would then go on to bag around £2.3bn from the takeover, which prompted questions around Virgin’s leadership decision to accept a deal that some believed undervalued the bank, which held a £4.4bn book value.
The takeover – completed at the start of October – helped forge the UK’s second-biggest retail banking provider, ahead of Natwest and behind Lloyds Banking Group.
Nationwide takes wheel for Virgin Money users
Nationwide confirmed the completion of a legal process known as Part VII Transfer on Tuesday, which allows a bank to move all its customers, accounts, and contracts to another bank without needing to ask every single customer for individual permission.
This sets up for Virgin Money and Nationwide can be consolidated into one single entity, with an indication a successor for Rhodes will not be required.
The process covers the entirety of Clydesdale Bank, which is the legal entity that owned Virgin Money and Yorkshire Bank.
As part of the transfer, Nationwide thus becomes responsible for customer accounts, mortgages, credit cards, data and banking contracts at the previous brands.
English business magnate Sir Richard Branson founded Virgin Money in March 1995, originally known as Virgin Direct.
Branson bagged a windfall of around £724m from the deal with Nationwide, which included £414m for his 14.5 per cent stake.
The remainder of the sum came from Nationwide agreeing to pay for the use of the Virgin Money brand – a fee that includes £15m in annual royalties for the first four years as well as a £250m exit fee, which tees the brand up to disappear from the high street within six years from the date of the takeover.