Virgin Money, which merged with Nationwide last October, has sold its investment business to Octopus Money.
A major high street bank has sold a key service – with 150,000 customers warned. Virgin Money, which merged with Nationwide last October, has sold its investment business to Octopus Money.
The deal will add around £3.8bn in assets and 150,000 customers to Octopus Money’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) proposition.
Nationwide bought Virgin Money last year to strengthen its position in the UK banking sector. The investments business was included in the deal. It is understood that Nationwide split the investment business from the bank before selling it to Octopus Money.
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Ruth Handcock, chief at Octopus Money, said: “Our investment platform has always been closely tied to our mission – helping people feel confident they’ll have enough to live the future they want.”
Consumer rights expert Martyn James said: “This is a reminder that whenever a big change occurs to a business or anything where you have a contract with a business, it is vital that you read the new documents and terms and conditions in detail.
“Business that takes over any financial agreement and applies new terms and conditions – including fees and charges – has to make this very clear when the new ownership begins.”
“If you aren’t happy, you should be given the chance to move your ISA/investment to another provider without fees as a consequence.”
Speaking last year, Nationwide – the world’s largest mutual and UK’s biggest building society – said: “We plan to bring the two businesses together gradually. Virgin Money will join Nationwide as a wholly owned subsidiary with a separate board, management team and banking licence. It will be run separately for a number of years.
“This will allow us time to decide whether it is in the interests of members to combine some systems or services.
“We will only go ahead when we can be sure of minimal disruption. Unlike mergers between banks in the past, our approach does not rely on quick integration or aggressive cost reduction.”