Virgin Money, has bought Northern Rock for £747m ($1.2bn), marking the first return of a UK government-backed bank to the private sector since the crisis.
Virgin, the retail banking arm of Sir Richard Branson, will pay £747m in cash upfront – roughly half of the £1.4bn of government equity that was injected into Northern Rock following its collapse in 2007. The taxpayer could receive up to an additional £250m if the business is sold or floated in future.
The sale of the “good” part of the bank – which was split in two in 2010, with its savings and mortgage bank separated from Northern Rock (Asset Management), the “bad bank” – marks a £400m loss for the government.