Northern Rock Foundation welcomes Virgin Money as it takes over the reins at Northern Rock

Posted: November 17, 2011 by rachel

Northern Rock Foundation welcomes the announcement that Virgin Money will become the new owner of Northern Rock plc and that the current arrangement between the bank and the Foundation will be extended until the end of 2013.

Alastair Balls, Chairman of the Foundation said:

“We look forward to working with Virgin Money and their not-for-profit arm Virgin Money Giving (VMG) and hope that this will result in an enduring and expanding role for the work which the Foundation has pioneered over the past fourteen years.”

“We had an initial discussion about the relationship that the Foundation and Virgin Money Giving might have in future. We are both committed to exploring ideas further and seeking to establish an on-going relationship that will enable the Foundation’s work tackling disadvantage and improving quality of life in the North East and Cumbria to continue to have a significant impact on the lives of vulnerable people. “

ENDS

Note for editors:

Northern Rock Foundation is a charity and company limited by guarantee with an independent Board of Trustees that makes all decisions on governance, finance and policy. The Foundation aims to tackle disadvantage and improve quality of life in North East England and Cumbria. The Foundation’s work is delivered by a professional staff team of 15 based in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Foundation is the largest independent grant maker in the region and is amongst the top 50 trust and foundation grant-makers nationally in terms of grant spend. In 2011 it will give £8.5million in grants. All funding for grants is committed at the time of the grant award.

The Foundation was established when Northern Rock Building Society demutualised in 1997. Between 1997 and 2010 the Foundation received £235 million from Northern Rock and gave out over 3,700 grants.

The Foundation is currently supported by Northern Rock plc through a funding agreement to provide 1% of pre-tax profits. This is a two year rolling agreement from January 2011, reviewed annually.

Virgin Money Giving (VMG) is the not-for-profit arm of Virgin Money. Since its launch in October 2009 it has enabled 130,000 individuals to raise £85m for 3500 charities.