Nationwide Building Society’s £2.9billlion acquisition of Virgin Money has been given the green light by the UK’s business regulator.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it has cleared the building society’s takeover by the bank which will see Nationwide’s portfolio of branches grow by 600.
In March 2024, Nationwide announced that it had agreed to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Virgin Money for a purchase price of approximately £2.9billion.
Notably, the building society is well-known for its “Branch Promise” which means Nationwide has pledged to not leave any area bereft of banking services where it has a physical branch.
This comes amid a wave of bank branch closures that have swept the UK in recent years with more than 6,000 sites closing since 2015.
Among those who have shut down branches include Halifax, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland.
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Advisers involved in helping Nationwide with the merger told GB News that there are no current plans to close any Virgin Money branches.
A Virgin Money spokesperson said: “We welcome the CMA’s decision to unconditionally clear the proposed acquisition by Nationwide following its Phase 1 investigation.
“The enlarged group will combine two complementary businesses that together can offer more great products and services to a larger customer base. We continue to expect that the transaction will complete in the fourth quarter of this year.”
Earlier this week (July 18), over 600,000 voters gave Nationwide’s board their backing for the deal to go through at the annual general meeting (AGM).
Every resolution, as well as the board’s re-election and pay packages for directors, received approvals from about 95 per or more of voters.
The AGM posed a threat to the respective financial institutions as campaigners had lobbied members to vote against all resolutions.
This was to protest against Nationwide’s choice to not put forward a deal in dedicated member’s vote.
However, the CMA’s decision and the AGM vote now makes the merger a certainty.
Bank branch closures are continuing at an ‘alarming rate’, according to Which?GETTY
In a statement, the building society saud “We have extended our Branch Promise by two years, meaning everywhere we have a Nationwide branch, we promise to still be there until at least the start of 2028.
“Over time, we will add Virgin Money’s branches to our existing network of more than 600 Nationwide branches.
“In the meantime, we have extended our Branch Promise to Virgin Money’s existing branches.
“Even where we have a Nationwide branch and a Virgin Money branch close by, we promise to keep them both open until at least the start of 2028.”