Branson-backed Virgin money plans London offering this month
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) Plc, the lender backed by billionaire Richard Branson, plans to complete its initial public offering in London this month.
Virgin Money said it's going ahead with the offering after the Bank of England announced lower-than-expected minimum regulatory ratios for banks last week, which prompted a surge in shares of U.K. lenders. Virgin Money, which had a 3.8 percent leverage ratio as of June 30, already exceeds the measure.
“We welcome the clarity provided by the Financial Policy Committee on the leverage ratio,” Chief Executive Officer Jayne-Anne Gadhia said in the statement today. “Given this and given more stable market conditions, we now plan to move forward with our IPO with the aim of being admitted by the end of November.”
The U.K. mortgage and savings bank, which bought nationalized Northern Rock Plc in 2011, delayed its IPO Oct. 17 after a stock-market sell off disrupted its plan. Aldermore Group Plc, another British lender seeking a stock offering, postponed its deal the same week. Virgin Money's IPO may raise about 150 million pounds ($240 million), the company based in Newcastle, England said Oct. 2.
British banks will face a basic leverage ratio of 3 percent, rising to 4.05 percent for the bigger lenders such as Barclays Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc, the BOE, led by Governor Mark Carney, said last week.
The stock offering would see WL Ross & Co., the investment manager run by U.S. billionaire Wilbur Ross, and the company's management sell shares to institutional investors, the lender said last month.
Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are leading the IPO, with Barclays, Citigroup Inc. and Keefe Bruyette & Woods Ltd. also working on the stock offer.