Virgin Money will buy Abrdn’s 50 per cent stake in their joint venture, Virgin Money Investments, following the launch of its investment and pension service.
Under the terms of the deal, Virgin Money will acquire the 50 per cent of Virgin Money Unit Trust Managers Limited currently owned by Abrdn for a cash pay out of £20mn .
Virgin Money managing director business and commercial, Allegra Patrizi, said: “Our joint venture with Abrdn has successfully delivered a new investment service offering simple and straightforward investment options for customers.”
Patrizi added that taking full control of Virgin Money Investments will mean the fim can bring the investments and pensions business together with its deposits, mortgages, credit cards and daily banking.
This will enable the company to “help more customers feel confident to invest for the future” and drive “significant growth in assets under management”.
The joint venture between Virgin Money and Abrdn was established in 2019, combining their specialisms to develop a new proposition for retail investors.
That service, comprising both a new digital platform and a range of investment products, was launched to customers in April 2023.
A new pension was launched on the platform in November 2023, and all existing investment and pension accounts held on the old platform were successfully migrated to the new platform in January 2024.
Virgin Money Investments had total assets under management of around £3.7bn and over 150,000 customer accounts at December 31.
Virgin Money’s ambition is to double assets under management for Virgin Money Investments within the next five years.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
What's your view?
Have your say in the comments section below or email us: ftadviser.newsdesk@ft.com
