Virgin Money announces changes to its store network

Thursday, 30 September 2021 10:47

Virgin Money has announced plans to close nine stores across Yorkshire as it adapts to changing customer demand.

Virgin Money regularly reviews the ways customers use its stores, as well as its online, mobile and telephone channels, so that it can adapt its services to meet changing customer demand. The number of customers using bank branches for day-to-day transactions has been on a downward trajectory across the UK banking industry for a number of years, and this has been further accelerated by the pandemic.

The decision to close a store is based on a number of factors, including location, usage, proximity to alternative stores and lease arrangements. Each store was assessed on an individual basis, with careful consideration of the impact on the local area, as well as the needs of vulnerable customers and the accessibility of alternative services such as free-to-use ATMs and the Post Office.

Customers can use Post Offices for day‐to-day banking, including cash deposits and withdrawals, cheque deposits and balance enquiries, as well as coin exchange.

Eight of the nine stores closing in Yorkshire are located less than a mile away from the nearest Post Office. For the other store, the nearest alternative Virgin Money store is 2.7 miles away.

In addition to these closures in Yorkshire, a further 21 stores will be closing across the UK. The stores will close in early 2022.

It is Virgin Money’s intention to find alternative roles for colleagues wherever possible, either within other stores locally or elsewhere in the Group. However, some colleagues will be at risk of redundancy. It is expected that the changes will result in a reduction of around 112 full time equivalent roles across the Group.

In addition, a colleague-only store in the Gosforth office will not reopen, following its closure at the start of the pandemic in early 2020.

Fergus Murphy, Group Customer Experience Director at Virgin Money said: “As our customers change the way they want to bank with us and conduct fewer transactions in-store, we must continue to evolve the role of our stores into places where we showcase our products and bring our digital services to life.”

Written notification will be sent to customers and posters will be displayed in each affected store at least 12 weeks before they close, providing details on the alternative ways customers can continue to manage their accounts, including nearest alternative stores, ATMs and Post Office counters.

Virgin Money will work with customers to support a smooth transition, particularly where vulnerable customers are concerned. A range of support services will be available prior to store closures, including digital workshops to help customers become more comfortable with digital banking.

Following these changes, Virgin Money will have a network of 131 stores across the UK.

Branches closing in Yorkshire
Branch/store	Address	Close date	New host address	Distance	Distance to nearest ATM	Distance nearest Post Office
Beverley	39 Saturday Market Place, Beverley, HU17 9AQ	25/01/2022	10-12 Paragon Street, Hull, HU1 3ND	8.6 miles	0.04 miles	499 ft
Keighley	73 North Street, Keighley, BD21 3SD	19/01/2022	1 Westgate, Shipley, BD18 3SD	7.1 miles	0.01 miles	361 ft
Leeds, Horsforth	32 Town Street, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 4RJ	21/01/2022	Waver Green, Pudsey, LS28 7BG	3.8 miles	0.01 miles	289 ft
Leeds, White Rose	Unit 28, Dewsbury Road, Leeds, LS11 8LU	28/01/2022	1 The Penny Hill Centre, Church Street, Hunslet, Leeds, LS10 2AP	2.7 miles	0.01 miles	7.4 miles
Mexborough	6a High Street, Mexborough, S64 9AP	27/01/2022	1 Frederick Street, Rotherham, S60 1QP	5.8 miles	0.05 miles	0.2 miles
Northallerton	116 High Street, Northallerton, DL7 8QW	07/01/2022	35-37 High Row, Darlington, DL3 7QT	16 miles	0.04 miles	289 ft
Selby	16 Market Cross, Selby, YO8 4NU	24/01/2022	46 Coney Street, York, YO1 9NQ	14 miles	0.05 miles	436 ft
Sheffield, Meadowhall	37 The Arcade, Meadowhall Regional Shopping Centre, Sheffield, S9 1EH	05/01/2022	66 Fargate, Sheffield, S1 2HE	3.7 miles	0.04 miles	0.7 miles
Whitby	72-74 Baxtergate, Whitby, YO21 1BB	06/01/2022	24 Huntriss Row Scarborough YO11 2EG	19 miles	0.01 miles	0.1 miles