BUSINESS LIVE: Nationwide to buy Virgin Money; ITV profits plummet; Aviva lines-up £300m share buyback

Nigel Farage yesterday warned that his debanking row with NatWest is ‘far from over’ as the Chancellor confirmed plans to sell shares in the lender to the public this summer.

Jeremy Hunt said he will press ahead with a multi-billion-pound retail offer to offload some of the almost 32 per cent stake in NatWest still held by the Government.

Nationwide Building Society has agreed to buy Virgin Money UK in an all-cash deal worth around £2.9billion, creating one of Britain’s biggest banks.

The deal will see Nationwide remain a building society, the lender said, but with an expanded suite of products and services, and greater scale and financial strength.

White van man was among those handed a much-needed boost after the Chancellor raised the level at which businesses have to pay VAT.

The threshold was raised from £85,000 in turnover to £90,000, giving everyone from painters and decorators to florists and tea shop owners across the UK a shot in the arm.

A hefty hike in business rates will go ahead after pleas for help from hospitality and the High Street fell on deaf ears.

The levy – charged on commercial properties including shops, pubs, offices and warehouses – rises 6.7 per cent on April 1.

The first female boss of Marks and Spencer is to step down.

Katie Bickerstaffe was appointed co-chief executive two years ago and has helped oversee a major turnaround in the High Street giant’s fortunes.

Astrazeneca will inject £650million into Britain’s world-leading pharmaceutical industry in a major boost to the economy.

The FTSE 100 group will plough £450million into researching, developing and manufacturing new vaccines at its plant in Speke, Liverpool.

The UK’s space sector has for small firms been handed extra cash.  The Chancellor plans to invest £10million in SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands which hopes to send satellites into space by the end of this year.

Nationwide Building Society has agreed to buy Virgin Money UK in an all-cash deal worth around £2.9billion, creating one of Britain’s biggest banks.

The deal will see Nationwide remain a building society, the lender said, but with an expanded suite of products and services, and greater scale and financial strength.

The 220p per share offer, which comprises a 118p cash consideration and a 2p per share dividend, is at a premium over 38 per cent to Virgin Money’s undisturbed share price as of 6 March.

The combined group will control total assets of more than £366billion, and total lending and advances of almost £284billion, representing the second largest provider of mortgages and savings in the UK.

Chairman of Nationwide Building Society Kevin Parry said: ‘A combination with Virgin Money would accelerate Nationwide’s strategy and create a stronger, and more diverse, modern mutual.

‘The combination would increase Nationwide’s scale and financial strength, put us in a stronger position to continue to provide Fairer Share Payments to eligible Nationwide members, and offer rates for mortgages and savings that are, on average, better than the market average.’

Nationwide, which is Britain’s biggest building society, highlighted the scaling opportunities offered by Virgin Money’s position as the country’s sixth largest retail bank.

It also noted its credit card business, which controls an 8.6 per cent market share, and its £9billion of existing business lending balances.

Nationwide said it does not intend to make any ‘material changes’ to Virgin Money’s 7,300-strong full-time headcount ‘in the near term’ and would ‘safeguard the existing contractual and statutory rights of Virgin Money employees, including pension arrangements and redundancy policies’.

Debbie Crosbie, Nationwide CEO, added: ‘We believe the combination would create a stronger and more diverse business that will be better placed to deliver value to our members and customers, both now and in the future.’

Virgin Money said the deal would see the group benefit from Nationwide’s ‘scale and pace of invesment’, as well as the building society’s ability to leverage its ‘capabilities and strengths’.