14 February 2024 , 12:43
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High street bank Virgin Money has agreed to buy Abrdn's share in their joint investment venture for £20 million, shortly after the business was launched.
The lender joined forces with investment giant Abrdn in 2019 to start Virgin Money Investments, expanding its offering from traditional retail products like savings and loans. Less than 12 months down the line, they rolled out a new digital platform that provided an app to allow their customers to pick from a selection of investments.
They also expanded their service list to include a new pension offer where people can start saving from as low as £25 per month. Just by the end of last year, Virgin Money Investments had its hands full managing assets worth £3.7 billion shared across over 150,000 customer accounts.
Taking over Abrdn's 50% stake in the platform is predicted to help Virgin Money's growth ambitions. The plan includes double the amount of assets being managed within five years.
Allegra Patrizi, managing director for business and commercial at the bank, said: "Our joint venture with Abrdn has successfully delivered a new investment service offering simple and straightforward investment options for customers."
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Virgin Money revealed their plans for expansion, explaining: "Taking full control of Virgin Money Investments will mean we can bring the investments and pensions business together with our deposits, mortgages, credit cards and daily banking, enabling us to help more customers feel confident to invest for the future and driving significant growth in assets under management."
It is expected that there will be no job losses as all employees from the investment arm will be transferred to Virgin Money. Abrdn will keep offering investment advice for the platform.