Virgin Money Holdings (UK) plc has announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange.
It is expected that the offer of new Ordinary Shares will raise gross proceeds of approximately £150 million and the Offer is expected to result in a free float of at least 25%.
BofA Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs International have been appointed as joint sponsors, joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners to the Offer, with Barclays and Citi acting as joint bookrunners and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods acting as joint lead manager.
Successful completion of the Offer will lead to a final payment of £50 million being made to HM Treasury by Virgin Money in respect of the contingent consideration payable as part of Virgin Money’s acquisition of Northern Rock plc. When Virgin Money agreed to buy Northern Rock plc in late 2011, it was agreed that this payment would be made in the event of a successful IPO of the combined businesses before the end of 2016. This payment will take the total paid by Virgin Money to HM Treasury for Northern Rock plc to £1.02 billion.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money, said: “We are delighted to be announcing our intention to float Virgin Money. 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.
In addition, and in recognition of their hard work to-date and their contribution to the future value of the business, I am also delighted to announce that each employee will be awarded £1,000 worth of shares in the business upon flotation.”