Virgin Money mortgage balance breaks £20bn

Its balance has increased by 43% in just over two years from £14bn in January 2012 when Northern Rock was acquired.

Peter Rogerson, savings and mortgages director at Virgin Money, said: “We are delighted to have surpassed the £20bn milestone as we maintain our safe and responsible growth momentum.

“Looking forward we will continue to grow the business and work with our intermediary partners to help more customers achieve their home ownership ambitions, by offering a broad range of attractive products backed by a strong customer service proposition.”

More than 72,000 households have either been helped to move or given the green light with a new mortgage.

Breaking down the figures, Virgin Money has helped 6,500 first-time buyers, 16,500 buyers looking to move up the property ladder and 33,000 customers remortgaged from another lender.

It has also backed the government’s Help to Buy schemes, with 2,500 applications being taken.

Virgin Money was the third largest net mortgage lender in the UK in 2013 according to Bank of England Funding for Lending data.

• Virgin Money could join a raft of banks seeking to float on the stock exchange, The Sunday Times reported yesterday.

Virgin Money has been valued at between £1.5bn and £2bn, according to the report. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group holds a 47% stake in the bank and American investor Wilbur Ross holding 45%. The remaining shares are held by the Abu Dhabi government and employees.