Nationwide to complete £2.9bn Virgin Money deal affecting 24m customers which will see one brand disappear

The lenders said in statement to the stock market that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have both approved the takeover.

It comes after the building society agreed to the takeover of its London-listed rival in March.

Nationwide struck the takeover deal with a 220p-a-share offer for Virgin Money, including a planned 2p-per-share dividend payout.

Nationwide’s £2.9 billion takeover of rival Virgin Money is expected to complete next month after the deal was given the green light by the UK’s financial regulators. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

The planned takeover will bring together Britain’s fifth and sixth largest retail lenders, creating a combined group with around 24.5 million customers, more than 25,000 staff and nearly 700 branches.

But the move is set to ultimately spell the end of the Virgin Money brand, with Nationwide planning to rebrand the Virgin Money business as Nationwide within six years, although it will keep the two brands initially.

On Friday, the banks said that “all relevant regulatory approvals have now been received” to push forward with the deal, having been cleared by the UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), in July.

The deal will still need to be sanctioned in court, with a hearing due to take place on September 27.

As a result, the deal is expected to formally complete on October 1, the banks said.

What the deal means for brands, jobs and branches?

Earlier this year, Nationwide said it will keep a branch in each location where the combined group is present, until at least the start of 2028 - announcing that it has extended its branch promise by another two years.

The society has previously said it does not intend to make any “material changes” to the size of Virgin Money's 7,300-strong workforce within the first year, but it is assessing the employee needs of the combined group and expects there to be some “limited” impact on back office staff

In March, the groups added: “There may be some limited workforce changes to reduce the size of overlapping central functions relating to Virgin Money ceasing to be a standalone publicly listed company.”

Nationwide also previously stressed it will remain a mutual building society if the deal is given the nod by Virgin Money’s shareholders.