Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by two independent brand-licensees worldwide from the Virgin Group. Virgin Money branded services are currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom. The brand formerly operated in South Africa and the United States. Each Virgin Money branded entity acts independently from the others, thus the products vary from country to country. Virgin Money currently has operations in the United Kingdom, the company was initially established as a personal finance company under the name of Virgin Direct in 1995, and the Virgin Money brand itself was introduced in 2000. Virgin Money vastly increased its size and customer base in 2012 with the purchase of the so-called 'good bank' portion of the nationalised Northern Rock bank. In 2018, the entire UK operation of Virgin Money was sold to CYBG plc in a £1.7bn all-share deal which made the group the sixth-largest bank in the UK. On 31 October 2019 CYGB plc changed its name to Virgin Money UK plc. In September of 2021, announced the closure of 31 branches and elimination of 112 jobs across Scotland and the north of England “as it adapts to changing customer demand.
