Northern Rock Foundation

The Story of the Foundation

The idea of establishing Northern Rock Foundation emerged in the mid -1990s during discussions at the then Northern Rock Building Society about demutualisation. Formally launched in January 1998, following the creation of the Northern Rock bank in October 1997, the Foundation was established with a principal but not exclusive focus on the North East of England. The Foundation was funded through a covenant providing 5% of the new plc’s annual profits, and held 15% of the issued share capital. From the start, alongside its commitment to responsive grant-making the foundation aimed to take other more experimental approaches and to inform the thinking and planning of regional and national policy makers. By 2005 the Foundation’s grant making had exceeded £25 million.

In 2007 extraordinary events in the global financial markets affecting Northern Rock  had a major knock-on effect on the Foundation. In 2008 Northern Rock was taken into temporary public ownership and the Foundation was guaranteed a minimum level of income of £15 million per year in 2008 , 2009 and 2010. From January 2011 the Foundation was supported by Northern Rock plc through a funding agreement to provide 1% of pre-tax profits. As part of the sale of Northern Rock plc to Virgin Money which completed on 1 January 2012 it was confirmed that Virgin Money would extend the existing commitment , in respect of the Northern Rock business, until the end of 2013. This commitment has now ended.

If you would like further detail on the Foundation’s history, please click on the below link.

January 2013.