Virgin Money cautiously lays out plans for £2bn listing this week
VIRGIN Money is planning to announce its initial public offering (IPO) this week, City A.M. understands.
But the challenger bank remains cautious in case market conditions change rapidly in the face of ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.
Virgin Money will join new lender Aldermore in the rush of financial firms listing on the stock market.
And its IPO comes just after Lloyds sold another chunk of TSB – the bailed out bank offloaded another 11 per cent stake in the spin-off high street bank last week.
The flurry of equity capital markets activity comes after share sales were crushed by the Scottish referendum, as firms held back new listings in case a Yes vote caused stocks to tumble.
Virgin Money is expected to be worth around £2bn, well above the £1.4bn market capitalisation of TSB currently, and the £900m which Aldermore is expected to reach.
The Newcastle-based bank is in the process of rolling out its new current account, and has succeeded in spreading its growth nationally through increased online sales.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group owns 47 per cent of the Virgin Money, with 45 per cent owned by US firm Wilbur Ross.
Part of Virgin Money is formed of Northern Rock, which the group bought some of for £747m in 2011 from the Treasury.