Northern Rock

British bank, 1850 to 2012

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Northern Rock" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article is about the former consumer bank. For other uses, see Northern Rock (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Northern Bank.

Northern Rock

Company type| Plc
Industry| Bank
Founded| 1850 (Northern Counties)
1865 (Rock)
1965; 60 years ago (1965) (merger, as Northern Rock)
Defunct| 12 October 2012; 12 years ago (2012-10-12)
Fate| Sold to Virgin Money and as of 1 October 2024 part of Nationwide Building Society
Headquarters|

Northern Rock House, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne

England

Number of locations

| 75 branches (2011)

Area served

| United Kingdom (formerly operated in Denmark, Ireland, Guernsey)

Key people

* Matt Ridley (chair­person, 2007)
* Adam Applegarth (CEO, 2007)

Services| Banking, Mortgages
Revenue| £5 billion (2006)

Operating income

| £627 million (2006)

Net income

| £443 million (2006)

Number of employees

| ~6000 (2007)[1]
Parent| Virgin Money UK

Northern Rock, formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, was a British bank. Based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Northern Rock was originally a building society. It demutualised and became Northern Rock bank in 1997, when it floated on the London Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol NRK.

During the early 2000s the company borrowed substantially to fund mortgages, with the aim of ambitious growth, and also donated large amounts to charitable purposes and communities directly and through sponsorships. Due to the 2008 financial crisis, it was unable to produce income as expected from its loans, and was at risk of being unable to repay the amounts it had borrowed. The news that the bank had approached the government for support with its liquidity led within 24 hours to a public lack of confidence and concerns that savings were at risk,[2] and the bank failed following a bank run as people rushed to withdraw their savings. It was the first British bank in 150 years to fail due to a bank run.[3]

Unable to find a commercial buyer or secure the further government support needed, it was taken into public ownership in 2008, as an alternative to insolvency. By that point the government had extended liquidity support of tens of billions of pounds to Northern Rock. An inquiry concluded that the board had failed to properly protect the bank from the risks inherent in its strategy, or to restrain the executive directors where required, therefore although the bank had sufficient assets, it had become vulnerable.

The branch operations were eventually returned to private ownership when the branches and other retail operations were acquired by Virgin Group in 2012, being rebranded as Virgin Money the same year. The mortgage book of higher risk assets was renamed Northern Rock (Asset Management) and later "NRAM plc",[4] and remained in public ownership until it was sold to Cerberus Capital Management in 2016.[5]

As of May 2024[update] the Northern Rock Shareholder Action Group are continuing their campaign to obtain compensation for the shares that were taken over by the Government when the bank was nationalised during the 2008 financial crisis.[6]

## History

[edit]

Northern Rock Building Society was formed in 1965 by the merger of two North East of England building societies, both of which were based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne: the Northern Counties Permanent Building Society (established in 1850) and the Rock Building Society (established in 1865).[7] During the following 30 years, Northern Rock expanded through the acquisition of 53 smaller building societies, most notably the North of England Building Society in 1994.[8]

Along with many other UK building societies in the 1990s, Northern Rock chose to demutualise as a building society and float on the stock exchange as a bank. Throughout this period an argument against demutualisation was that the assets of a mutual society were built up by its members throughout its history, not just by current members, and that demutualisation was a betrayal of the community that the societies were created to serve.[9][10][11] Northern Rock chose to address these concerns by establishing the Northern Rock Foundation, which funded community-based projects.[12] At its Stock Exchange flotation on 1 October 1997 (when it converted from a building society to a bank),[13] Northern Rock distributed shares to members with savings accounts and mortgage loans; the flotation share price was £4.51908.[14] It joined the stock exchange as a minor bank.

In 2000, it was promoted to the FTSE 100 Index. After the 2007 crisis, it was demoted to the FTSE 250 in December of that year,[15] before suspension upon nationalisation.

On 14 September 2007 the bank sought and received a liquidity support facility from the Bank of England,[16] following problems in the credit markets caused by the 2008 financial crisis. The bank was more exposed than others to restrictions in the supply of credit because of the way it had funded its expansion. It had borrowed short term on the wholesale money markets and lent long term for mortgages on property. This was a policy well known to cause failures (see Banking School Theory of Crises under Financial Crises) when short-term interest rates rose above long-term rates and insufficient hedging was in place.[17][18]

The bank was nationalised at 00:01 on 22 February 2008 following two unsuccessful bids to take over the bank, neither being able to fully commit to repayment of taxpayers' money. In doing so, the Government effectively took ownership of the insolvent institution away from its shareholders, without reimbursement. The media reported cases where some shareholders had their life savings in the shares, which were taken from them.[19][20] The shares had already lost over 90% of their value prior to nationalisation, and were valued at nil in an independent valuation process, as the government had not guaranteed aid. This would later form part of shareholder's action to seek compensation as, at that point, the aid was certain and the company had never stopped operating as a going concern.[clarification needed]

A substantial reduction in the staff was announced in 2008, with 800 people made compulsorily redundant in July of that year, and another 500 taking voluntary redundancy. The bank planned to make another 700 redundant by 2011.[21]

On 1 January 2010 the bank was split into two parts, assets and banking.[22] In June 2011 the bank was officially put up for sale back to the private sector, and on 17 November 2011 it was announced that Virgin Money was going to buy Northern Rock plc for £747 million up front and other potential payments of up to £280 million over the next few years.[23] The sale went through on 1 January 2012.[24][25] The government said it had no plans to sell Northern Rock (Asset Management) and there would be no further job losses, except for those already announced. Virgin also pledged to keep the headquarters of the bank in Newcastle upon Tyne.[26] The combined business now operates under the Virgin Money brand.[27]

On 12 October 2012 Northern Rock plc was renamed Virgin Money plc, and Virgin Money Limited was renamed Northern Rock Limited. By this time the Northern Rock website had effectively become a 'soft redirect' to Virgin Money's website.

In 2024, Nationwide Building Society bought Virgin Money, and aims to rebrand the business by 2030.[28]

## 2007 crisis and nationalisation

[edit]

Main article: Nationalisation of Northern Rock

People queuing outside a branch in Golders Green, London, on 14 September 2007, to withdraw their savings due to fallout from the subprime crisis. The clock outside this branch, on Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, is emblazoned with the bank's name and has become a popular image in print and television coverage of the Northern Rock crisis. Following the Virgin rebranding this clock still features the name Northern Rock. A branch of the Northern Rock with Virgin Money branding on Briggate in Leeds.

### Background

[edit]

Under non-executive chairman Matt Ridley and Chief Executive Adam Applegarth, Northern Rock had a business plan which involved borrowing heavily in the UK and international money markets, extending mortgages to customers based on this funding, and then re-selling these mortgages on international capital markets, in a process known as securitisation.

In 2007, there was much press attention given to the growing crisis due to subprime mortgage lending, particularly in the United States. Amid the resultant unease by August 2007, global demand from investors for securitised mortgages had fallen away, and Northern Rock was unable to raise funding by selling its securitised loan books, and therefore became unable to repay short-term loans from the money market. This problem had been anticipated by the financial markets, which drew greater attention to it. The major UK banks also faced the same problems raising funding, but as less of their business model was reliant upon securitisation, the effective freezing of the market in August 2007 was less critical.

### 2007 crisis and initial responses

[edit]

On 14 September 2007, the bank sought and received a liquidity support facility from the Bank of England, to replace funds it was unable to raise from the money market. Reporting of this complex scenario led to panic among individual depositors, who feared that their savings might not be available should Northern Rock go into receivership. The result was a bank run – the UK's first in 150 years – where depositors lined up outside the bank to withdraw all of their savings as quickly as possible, particularly since many other people were doing the same.[3]

As the UK government provided the liquidity support facility, they also exerted pressure on the bank to create a longer-term recovery plan. Over the next few months, there were numerous changes to the board of directors and executive team.

On 19 October, chairman Matt Ridley resigned and was replaced by Bryan Sanderson, a former Managing Director of BP. Chief Executive Adam Applegarth's resignation was then announced in mid-November, with the caveat that he would remain with the group until it established independent funding or was purchased. Four non-executive directors, Sir Derek Wanless, Nichola Pease, Adam Fenwick and Rosemary Radcliffe also resigned.[29] A month later, Applegarth left and former Marketing Director, Andy Kuipers, was appointed Chief Executive.[30] Kuipers had been with the bank since the 1990s.

Notably, Dave Jones, the Group Finance Director through the crisis, had only been in his role since the retirement of Bob Bennett in January 2007. Alongside Applegarth, Bennett had been one of the architects of the bank's flotation in 1997 and its subsequent substantial growth. He had been wary of its continued aggressive growth strategy, which would continue up until summer 2007, despite the increasing volatility in the markets on which Northern Rock relied.[31] Commentators later suggested that with Bennett's retirement, the executive board was dominated by Applegarth. A report by the Financial Services Authority conceded in February 2008 that it had been wrong to consider Northern Rock low risk, and as a result had given the company too little scrutiny.[32]

The group was criticised when it emerged that they had begun to pay in excess of 150 senior staff members substantial retention bonuses. Northern Rock hoped the bonuses would enable them to retain critical staff members at risk of being poached by other companies.[33] It had previously been criticised in 1998 when the pay of the executive team that led the flotation was 40% higher in the year following.[34]

In late 2007, Virgin Money was named as the preferred bidder for the group, with Olivant Group later beginning talks around takeover.[30]

### Nationalisation

[edit]

On 22 February 2008, the bank was taken into state ownership as a result of two unsuccessful bids to take over the bank, neither being able to fully commit to repayment of taxpayers' money within three years.[35] The bank was managed at "arm's length" by the government through UK Financial Investments.[36]

The bank planned to repay the government debt within three to four years, primarily by encouraging mortgage customers to take their mortgage to another lender. Costs were also reduced by reducing numbers of staff.[37] As of 3 March 2009, the bank was repaying the loan well ahead of target, owing a net balance of only £8.9 billion of the loan which stood at £26.9 billion at the end of 2007.[38]

By October, customers appeared to be regaining confidence in the bank, when it emerged that there had been a surge in the number of new accounts which had been opened.[39] People perceived Northern Rock as a safe place to put their money, given that it was currently government owned. However, there was no guarantee that if Northern Rock was to fail that the government would top-up any compensation over and above the standard £85,000 offered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.[40]

Former shareholders and hedge funds also took legal action in January 2009 to get compensation for their shares; the shareholders lost the case.[41][42] They also lost their appeals in the British courts, but hoped to take the case to the European courts.[43][44] However, on 8 December 2009, it was announced that the valuer Andrew Caldwell had decided that the Northern Rock shareholders should get no compensation.[45]

On 23 February 2009, Northern Rock announced that they would be offering £14 billion worth of new mortgages, over the next two years, as a part of their new business plan.[46] This new lending was partly funded by an increase in the government loan and a reversal of previous strategy to pay the loan off as quickly as possible by actively encouraging mortgage customers to leave when their mortgage deal matured. The reason for this change was government policy to increase the availability of credit. This £14 billion was to be split into £5 billion in 2009 and £9 billion in 2010.[47][needs update]

Potential buyers for the bank included Virgin Money, National Australia Bank, NBNK, Santander, Blackstone, Tesco, TowerBrook, Yorkshire Building Society and Coventry Building Society.[48] Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling had stated that he was in no "hurry" to return the bank to the private sector.[49]

The bank was split into two parts, assets and banking on 1 January 2010.[50] On 15 June 2011, it was announced that the bank was to be sold to a single buyer in the private sector by the end of the year.[51] On 22 March 2011, the bank issued its first mortgage securitisation since the 2007 recession which nearly brought the bank down.[52]

### Purchase by Virgin Money

[edit]

On 17 November 2011, it was announced that Virgin Money was going to buy Northern Rock plc for £747 million.[23] The sale was completed on 1 January 2012, and by July of that year a further £73 million deferred consideration was paid by Virgin. In 2014 Virgin Money repaid a further £154.5 million that it had received as part of the refinancing package.[53]

### Northern Rock Shareholder Action Group

[edit]

The Northern Rock Shareholder Action Group (NRSAG)[54] has been active since the Northern Rock crisis began in 2007, seeking fair compensation for the thousands of small shareholders who owned Northern Rock shares. The group is run by a committee of volunteers. The UK Shareholders Association provide administrative and advisory oversight to the group. The Committee reached the conclusion that HM Treasury has made a substantial amount of money from running down the loan book of the bank.

The NRSAG committee made several failed appeals to the Government previously, but the facts were not fully known then, but it is evident now that all loans to the taxpayer have been paid in full at penal rates of interest.[citation needed] That means compensation to shareholders will not be a charge on taxpayers or upon the general public because it is payable out of the surplus funds, built since nationalisation in 2008, as a result of asset disposals.[citation needed]

The NRSAG claim that despite comparable conditions, no other failed bank was handled in this manner during the 2008 financial crisis. Instead, other banks received full Government backing, bailouts and shareholders retained their shares. The Government has earned a sizable surplus[55] in the years after nationalisation, even though any and all Government assistance was completely reimbursed in those years, including interest paid at penal rates at no expense to the UK public. The NRSAG asked the Government to review their original compensation decision, given that the updated and widely confirmed numbers prove a huge surplus. To request an appeal, the NRSAG wrote to the Treasury Select Committee.[56] Also, the group wrote to each MP to back their campaign for fairness and justice.

## Operations

[edit]

A typical Northern Rock branch, on Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne in 2007. On 9 January 2012 it was given a temporary Virgin Money rebrand when Richard Branson visited Newcastle, and along with all other branches was fully rebranded later that year.

Northern Rock has been one of the top five mortgage lenders in the United Kingdom in terms of gross lending according to Council of Mortgage Lenders statistics.[57]

As well as mortgages, the bank also deals with savings accounts and insurance. Home and contents insurance was dealt with by AXA whilst Legal & General, whose mortgage book Northern Rock acquired, arranged life insurance investments.

The bank offered credit cards until 2003, when it sold the business to The Co-operative Bank in order to free capital for its rapid growth in mortgage lending, making a profit of more than £7 million. Northern Rock continued to sell credit cards under its own brand through The Co-operative Bank until November 2007; the decision to stop was made before the 2007 crisis.[58]

In 2006 the bank had moved into sub-prime lending via a deal with Lehman Brothers. Although the mortgages were sold under Northern Rock's brand through intermediaries, the risk was being underwritten by Lehman Brothers.[59][60] Mortgages with LTV ("Loan to Value") ratios of up to 130% were made.[61]

At the time of being bought by Virgin the bank had 75 branches that have since been re-branded under the Virgin Money name. In 2012 Northern Rock began to provide Virgin-branded savings accounts.

## Location

[edit]

The Northern Rock House buildings at Regent Centre in 2011. The black-coloured buildings were completed in the 1990s, and the sandstone-coloured buildings that can be seen in the background were completed in the 2000s. The Northern Rock sign has since been changed to a Virgin Money logo.

The bank was based on a large site at the Regent Centre in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne called Northern Rock House. It had customer contact centre operations at both North of England House in Doxford International Business Park in Sunderland and at its head office. The bank developed a site at Rainton Bridge,[62] which it sold to Npower.[63][64]

### Gosforth site

[edit]

Northern Rock completed the redevelopment of the Gosforth site, Northern Rock House, in the 2000s, which saw the development some new buildings as well as the demolition of their original 1960s tower block during Spring 2006.

A new tower block, simply known as The Tower,[65] was completed in November 2008, originally intended to create 1500 jobs, and act as the main entrance and focal point of the company headquarters.[66][67] The local council, Newcastle City Council, purchased the building for £22 million, and leased it to a green support services company, Eaga (now Carillion Energy), as it was surplus to the bank's requirements at the time.[68]

The Kielder and Prudhoe buildings of the Gosforth site were completed in the early 1990s, behind which lies the distinctive glass-fronted Alnwick building. The main Atrium reception is adjacent to this, opening out onto Baker Street, a large covered atrium that housed a restaurant, shop and on-site branch. A number of other buildings, all named after North-Eastern castles are joined to Baker Street.

### Outside the UK

[edit]

A sub-division in Guernsey was established in February 1996,[69] handling offshore savings and investment accounts. The Guernsey business was shut down on 2 September 2010.[70]

Northern Rock opened a branch in Ireland on 16 November 1999[71] and the first branch in Northern Ireland followed on 4 April 2007. The first branch of the bank opened in Denmark on 7 February 2007;[72] however as part of the Government restructuring, the Danish operations ceased on 18 June 2008. The €650 million worth of Irish deposits were sold to Permanent TSB in 2011.[73]

## Corporate image

[edit]

Northern Rock logo used until 2000.

In 2000 Northern Rock introduced a new corporate identity consisting of a magenta square containing the company name. This replaced the NR 'blocks' logo. The Northern Rock Foundation also changed its logo in 2003 from the NR 'blocks' inline with the main company, using the same new typeface. The Red Box Design Group designed all the currently standing buildings at the company's headquarters in Gosforth[74][75][76][77][78][79] and have contributed to many of the other design aspects of the company, such as the in-branch styling.[80] From 1 October 1997 until the government nationalisation, the bank used the symbol NRK on the London Stock Exchange.

One of Northern Rock's final advertising campaigns before the purchase by Virgin was titled 'Works for Me' and featured local customers. Following the purchase by Virgin, the Northern Rock brand was gradually phased out during 2012. Upon buying Northern Rock, Virgin Money changed their logo to use both Virgin's red and Northern Rock's magenta colours.

## Board of directors

[edit]

Northern Rock's headquarters building in Gosforth, as seen in 1969, that was in the process of being replaced during the bank's final years.

Prior to the credit crisis the company had focused on developing its own staff, and most appointments, including the chief executive, were made internally.

Matt Ridley was the chairman and Adam Applegarth was the chief executive until Ridley resigned in October 2007 and Applegarth resigned in November 2007, although the latter stayed on in a caretaker role until December 2007. The chief financial officer was Andy Kuipers, who joined the company in 1987. After Applegarth's departure, Kuipers became the interim chief executive prior to the nationalisation before retiring on 31 August 2008.[81]

In February 2008, Ron Sandler was appointed executive chairman by the government. Gary Hoffman became chief executive of Northern Rock in October 2008.[82] With the appointment of Gary Hoffman, Ron Sandler changed to a non-executive chairman position.

Since the split of the bank into Northern Rock plc and Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc on 1 January 2010, each company had its boards of directors.[83] On 4 November 2010 Northern Rock announced that Gary Hoffman had left the bank and was to move to NBNK Investments as CEO. One of the stipulations of Hoffman's appointment at NBNK was that they could not table a bid for Northern Rock for a period of 12 months.[84]

Prior to being bought by Virgin the board of Northern Rock plc at 8 April 2010 was:

* Chairman: Ron Sandler
* Chief Executive: Gary Hoffman
* Chief Financial Officer: Jim McConville
* Executive Directors: Rick Hunkin
* Non-Executive Directors: Laurie Adams, Richard Coates, Mike Fairey, Mark Pain, Mary Phibbs

## Sponsorship

[edit]

The company sponsored many local sports clubs and events, including Newcastle United Football Club,[85] Newcastle Falcons (rugby union), Newcastle Eagles (basketball), Durham and Middlesex County Cricket clubs, professional golfer Paul Eales and the cycling festival Northern Rock Cyclone.[86]

The sponsorship of Newcastle United began in 2003, and was set to expire in 2010, before an extension to 2014.[87] However this extension included a get-out clause in June 2012, which was activated in November 2011.[88] While under government control the bank continued their sponsorship agreement. The five-year deal from 2005 to 2010 was worth £25 million,[89] and the 4-year extension was to be worth between £1.5 million and £10 million. In 2012 after Virgin bought the bank, Virgin Money signed a 2-year deal to sponsor Newcastle United initially using the remaining time of Northern Rock's deal that was cut short; this deal was again itself later cut short.[90]

In 2005, to coincide with the Spirit of the Tall Ships Festival, Northern Rock enlisted the help of Red Box Interiors to create a temporary art installation at The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art on the Gateshead Quay of the Tyne. The art entitled "Northern Rock @ Baltic" included mobile light stem sculptures and large scale external graphics.[91]

Northern Rock sponsored the North East Premier League competition for recreational club cricket.[92] In 2006 Northern Rock sponsored the All*Star Cup celebrity Golf match, which was shown on ITV.[93][94] The bank also sponsors a junior golf tournament, The Northern Rock Junior Golf Festival, held at Matfen Hall.[95]

In 2007, almost three weeks before the bank had to appeal to the Bank of England for an emergency loan, the bank bought the home ground of Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club, Kingston Park stadium[89] for £15 million. In February 2008, documents relating to the sale came to light, attracting much criticism that the purchase has been made at a time of impending crisis.[96] In late 2008 the bank sold Kingston Park Stadium to Northumbria University for an undisclosed fee.[97] While under government control the bank continued to sponsor Newcastle Falcons; the sponsorship agreement with the Falcons came to an end before the start of the 2010/11 season.[98]

## Northern Rock Foundation

[edit]

The company donated substantial amounts annually to its own independent charity, the Northern Rock Foundation.

The nationalisation of Northern Rock had a devastating impact on the local charity sector in the North East, which was funded almost entirely by dividends from Northern Rock. The largest shareholder in the bank was the Northern Rock Foundation, which owned 15% of the bank's share capital. The charity did tremendous work with around £235 million spent on local charities and good causes.

The charity wound up after handing out some of its last grants to good causes across the North East and Cumbria in 2015.[99]

## See also

[edit]

* Banks portal

* Landmark Mortgages
* Northern Rock Foundation
* Nationalisation of Northern Rock
* Partnership House and Regent Centre
* UKFI and UKAR
* Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008
* Virgin Money UK

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Northern Rock confirms jobs cuts". BBC News. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
2. ^ "Bank bailout 'should have been secret'". BBC News. 11 September 2017.
3. ^ a b Stuckler, David; Meissner, Christopher M; King, Lawrence P (15 January 2008). "Can a bank crisis break your heart?". Globalization and Health. 4 (1): 1. doi:10.1186/1744-8603-4-1. PMC 2244604. PMID 18197979.
4. ^ "Northern Rock split date is set". BBC News. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
5. ^ Ping Chan, Szu; Wallace, Tim (13 November 2015). "Government sells £13bn of former Northern Rock mortgages to US private equity firm". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
6. ^ "TSC Appeal". Northern Rock Shareholder Action Group. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
7. ^ "No. 45057". The London Gazette. 23 March 1965. p. 2966.
8. ^ "Reference numbers DT.NP, DT.NR and DX767". Tyne and Wear Archives Service. `{{cite journal}}`: Cite journal requires `|journal=` (help)
9. ^ "Building societies resist carpetbaggers". BBC News. 2 January 1999. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
10. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 10 March 1997 (pt 28)". The Stationery Office. 10 March 1997. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
11. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 17 March 1997 (pt 17)". The Stationery Office. 17 March 1997. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
12. ^ "History". Northern Rock Foundation. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
13. ^ "Share Information – Frequently Asked Questions". Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
14. ^ "Share Information – Frequently Asked Questions". Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
15. ^ "Northern Rock drops from FTSE 100". BBC News. 12 December 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
16. ^ "Liquidity Support Facility for Northern Rock plc – Tripartite Statement by HM Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority". Bank of England. 14 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
17. ^ Read, Charles (2022). Calming the storms : the carry trade, the banking school and British financial crises since 1825. Cham, Switzerland. p. 295\. ISBN 978-3-031-11914-9. OCLC 1360456914.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
18. ^ "Northern Rock lessons". dlv.prospect.gcpp.io. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
19. ^ "Northern Rock to be nationalised". BBC News. 17 February 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
20. ^ Atkinson, Simon (18 February 2008). "Rock recovery is Sandler's goal". BBC News. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
21. ^ Treanor, Jill (30 July 2008). "Northern Rock to make 800 compulsory redundancies". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
22. ^ "Northern Rock confirms split plan". BBC News. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
23. ^ a b "Northern Rock sale announced by chancellor". BBC News. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
24. ^ "UKFI confirms completion of Northern Rock sale to Virgin Money" (PDF). UKFI. 1 January 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
25. ^ "UK sells Northern Rock to Virgin despite protest". Reuters. 1 January 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
26. ^ "Chancellor announces sale of Northern Rock plc". HM Treasury. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
27. ^ "Virgin Money acquires Northern Rock". Virgin Group. 17 November 2011. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
28. ^ Mucklejohn, Lars (1 October 2024). "Nationwide completes Virgin Money takeover to create high street banking titan". City AM. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
29. ^ Jordan, Christine Seib and Dearbail. "Adam Applegarth resigns from Northern Rock". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
30. ^ a b Rossiter, James. "Northern Rock: the story so far". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
31. ^ "Ex-Northern Rock FD pans bank". Accountancy Age. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
32. ^ Treanor, Jill (26 February 2008). "Regulator admits it mishandled Northern Rock". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
33. ^ Mirror.co.uk (14 January 2008). "£100K bonus for Northern Rock bosses". mirror. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
34. ^ "Northern Rock bill for board pay soars". The Independent. 25 March 1998. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
35. ^ "Northern Rock now in public hands". BBC News. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
36. ^ "New company to manage Government's shareholding in banks". HM Treasury. 3 November 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
37. ^ Treanor, Jill (31 July 2008). "Northern Rock to make 800 compulsory redundancies". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
38. ^ "2008 Annual Report and Accounts". Northern Rock plc. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
39. ^ "Commitment to Competitive Framework – Savings Product Changes". Northern Rock. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
40. ^ Budworth, David (3 October 2008). "Northern Rock might have to turn away savers". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
41. ^ Wearden, Graeme (13 February 2009). "Northern Rock shareholders lose compensation case". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
42. ^ "SRM Global Master Fund LP v Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury (EWHC 227)". British and Irish Legal Information Institute. 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
43. ^ "Appeal defeat for Rock investors". BBC News. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
44. ^ "Appeal bid denied for Northern Rock shareholders". The Journal. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 25 December 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
45. ^ Treanor, Jill (8 December 2009). "Northern Rock investors will not get compensation". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
46. ^ "Northern Rock Returns to Mortgage Market". Northern Rock. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
47. ^ "Northern Rock unveils £14 billion bid to kick-start mortgage lending". Daily Record. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
48. ^ Dey, Iain (26 April 2009). "Northern Rock to be sold by end of year". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
49. ^ "Darling promises "no rushed sale" on Northern Rock". The Journal. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
50. ^ "Treasury confirms 1 January restructuring of Northern Rock". HM Treasury. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
51. ^ "Osborne plans to sell Northern Rock to a single buyer". BBC News. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
52. ^ "Northern Rock launches first mortgage securitisation issue since 2007". PropertyMall. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
53. ^ "Virgin Money repays Treasury £150m it got in Northern Rock deal". The Telegraph. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
54. ^ "Home". Northern Rock Shareholder Action Group. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
55. ^ "Supporting Evidence". www.nrsag.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
56. ^ "Treasury Select Committee" (PDF). Retrieved 17 May 2024.
57. ^ "A month of rising mortgage rates and fees". Easier.com. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
58. ^ Farrell, Sean (12 February 2008). "Northern Rock and Co-op cancel credit card tie-up". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
59. ^ "Northern Rock ups sub-prime rates". BBC. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
60. ^ "Stock Exchange Announcement Northern Rock PLC: Trading Statement For The 9 Months to 30 September 2006". Northern Rock. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
61. ^ Finch, Julia; Clark, Andrew; Teather, David (26 January 2009). "Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown". The Guardian.
62. ^ "Rainton Bridge". Rainton Bridge. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
63. ^ "Redundant Northern Rock staff leave". The Press Association. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
64. ^ "Npower shifts 900 jobs to Sunderland". Sunderland Echo. 6 April 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
65. ^ "Tower becomes cornerstone of campus". Red Box Design Group Ltd. 28 November 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
66. ^ "It's boom time for Northern Rock". Evening Chronicle. 25 July 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
67. ^ "Northern Rock tower may be sold, bank boss admits". The Northern Echo. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
68. ^ "New offices for Eaga". Eaga. April 2009. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
69. ^ "About Us". Northern Rock (Guernsey) Limited. 2008. Archived from the original on 1 January 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
70. ^ "Northern Rock closes offshore business". City Wire. 2 June 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
71. ^ "Northern Rock celebrates 5th anniversary of Irish launch". Northern Rock Ireland. 16 November 2004. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
72. ^ "About Northern Rock plc". Northern Rock plc. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
73. ^ "Northern Rock sells Irish deposits to Permanent TSB in €650m deal". Irish Independent. 31 August 2011.
74. ^ "Northern Rock Building Society Headquarters". Red Box Architecture. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
75. ^ "Northern Rock 1994". Red Box Architecture. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
76. ^ "Northern Rock Campus Development Phase 2". Red Box Architecture. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
77. ^ "Northern Rock 2005". Red Box Architecture. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
78. ^ "Northern Rock – Phase 4". Red Box Architecture. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
79. ^ "Northern Rock Tower". Red Box Architecture. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
80. ^ "Northern Rock Roll-out". Red Box Architecture. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
81. ^ "Stock Exchange announcement – Northern Rock plc update". Northern Rock. 13 December 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
82. ^ "New Northern Rock boss appointed". BBC News. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
83. ^ "Board appointments at Northern Rock". Northern Rock. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
84. ^ "Directorate Change". Northern Rock. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
85. ^ "Magpies extend sponsorship deal". BBC News. 20 April 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
86. ^ "Sponsors". Northern Rock Cyclone. Archived from the original on 26 September 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
87. ^ "Northern Rock plc to sponsor Newcastle United". Northern Rock plc. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
88. ^ "Northern Rock Newcastle United sponsorship deal ended early". BBC News. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
89. ^ a b Bond, David (21 February 2008). "Newcastle seek Northern Rock talks". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
90. ^ "Virgin Money to sponsor Newcastle United Football Club". Virgin Money. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
91. ^ "Northern Rock @ Baltic". Red Box Interiors. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
92. ^ "About us". Play Cricket – North East Premier League. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
93. ^ "Red Carpet" (PDF). Northern Rock. 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2008.[permanent dead link]
94. ^ "Rock in swing with Ant 'n' Dec". The Journal. 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
95. ^ "Have a free go at golf". Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: The Journal. 24 May 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
96. ^ Griffiths, Katherine (28 February 2008). "Northern Rock bought rugby fields three weeks before crisis". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
97. ^ "Northumbria University buys Newcastle Falcons' ground". The Journal. 4 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
98. ^ "Northern Rock ends long-standing Newcastle Falcons deal". BBC News. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
99. ^ "Northern Rock Foundation hands out last grants". BBC News. 17 January 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northern Rock.

* Virgin Money UK Archived 31 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine
* Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc (Separate company)
* Northern Rock Foundation
* Northern Rock Shareholder Action Group

* v
* t
* e

Banks in the United Kingdom

Banking in the United Kingdom (History)

Barclays|

* Barclays Bank
* Tesco Bank

HSBC Holdings|

* First Direct
* HSBC UK Bank
* HSBC Private Bank
* M&S Bank

Lloyds Banking Group|

* Bank of Scotland
* Halifax
* Lloyds Bank

NatWest Group|

* NatWest
* Coutts & Co.
* Royal Bank of Scotland
* Messrs. Drummond
* Holt's Military Banking
* Ulster Bank
* Isle of Man Bank

Santander Group|

* Cahoot
* Cater Allen
* Santander UK

Wholly state-owned|

* National Savings and Investments
* UK Government Investments
* UK Asset Resolution

Challenger banks|

* Atom Bank
* Kroo
* Monzo
* Starling Bank
* Tandem Money
* Zopa

Other retail|

* Al Rayan Bank
* Aldermore
* AIB Group (UK)
* Allied Irish Bank (GB)
* AIB (NI)
* Bank of Ireland
* Chase UK
* The Co-operative Bank
* Smile
* Danske Bank
* easyMoney
* Handelsbanken
* Hodge Bank
* Kent Reliance
* Kingdom Bank
* Metro Bank
* Paragon
* Reliance Bank
* Secure Trust Bank
* Sainsbury's Bank
* Shawbrook Bank
* Standard Chartered
* Triodos Bank
* TSB Bank
* Virgin Money
* Clydesdale Bank
* Yorkshire Bank
* Wesleyan Bank

Other commercial
and private|

* Arbuthnot Latham & Co
* Butterfield Bank
* C. Hoare & Co
* Cambridge & Counties Bank
* Close Brothers Group
* Duncan Lawrie
* J.P. Morgan
* Kleinwort Hambros
* Rothschild & Co
* Unity Trust Bank
* Weatherbys

* Big Four banks are underlined and private banks are shown in italics

* v
* t
* e

Great Recession

By region|

* Africa
* Americas
* United States
* South America
* Asia
* Europe
* Iceland
* Oceania

United States-specific|

* Automotive industry crisis
* California budget crisis
* Housing bubble
* Housing market correction
* Subprime mortgage crisis

Banking losses and fraud|

* Libor scandal
* Tom Hayes
* Société Générale trading loss
* Icesave dispute
* Forex scandal
* Bernie Madoff
* Tom Petters
* Scott W. Rothstein
* Allen Stanford

Government entities|

* Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
* Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
* Federal Home Loan Banks
* Federal Housing Administration
* Federal Housing Finance Agency
* Federal Housing Finance Board
* Federal Reserve System
* Government National Mortgage Association
* National Asset Management Agency
* Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
* Office of Financial Stability
* UK Financial Investments

Government policy and spending responses

Banking and finance
stability and reform|

* Banking (Special Provisions) Act 2008
* China–Japan–South Korea trilateral summit
* Commercial Paper Funding Facility
* Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
* Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
* Irish emergency budget, 2009
* Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program
* Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility
* Troubled Asset Relief Program
* 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package

| Bank stress tests|

* EU
* U.S.

|

Stimulus and recovery|

* 2008 European Union stimulus plan
* 2008–2009 Keynesian resurgence
* American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
* Chinese economic stimulus program
* Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
* Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009
* Green New Deal
* Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
* National fiscal policy response to the Great Recession
* Zero interest-rate policy

Government interventions,
rescues, and acquisitions|

* List of banks acquired or bankrupted during the Great Recession

| Non-banking|

* Chrysler
* General Motors

|

Securities involved
and financial markets|

* Auction rate securities
* Collateralized debt obligations
* Collateralized mortgage obligations
* Credit default swaps
* Mortgage-backed securities
* Secondary mortgage market

Social responses|

* Tea Party protests (United States; c. 2009)
* 2009 May Day protests (Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Asia; 2009)
* Arab Spring (MENA; 2010–2012)
* Occupy movement (worldwide; 2011–2012)
* Occupy Wall Street

Related topics|

* 2000s energy crisis
* 2008 Central Asia energy crisis
* Effects of the Great Recession on museums
* Decline of newspapers
* 2007–2008 world food price crisis
* Retail apocalypse

* European debt crisis
* 2008 financial crisis
* List of countries by public debt

* v
* t
* e

Former building societies of the United Kingdom

* Building Societies Association
* Banking in the United Kingdom

* Abbey National
* Aberavon Mutual Permanent
* Aid to Thrift
* Alliance and Leicester
* Anglia
* Barnsley
* Bedford
* Bedford Crown
* Bexhill
* Bingley Permanent
* Birmingham Midshires
* Bolton
* Bradford and Bingley
* Bradford Equitable
* Bristol and West
* Britannia
* Burnley
* Bury St Edmunds
* Catholic
* Century
* Chelsea
* Cheltenham and Gloucester
* Chesham
* Cheshire
* Cheshunt
* Chilterns
* City & Metropolitan
* City of Derry
* City of London
* Clay Cross Benefit
* Co-operative Permanent
* Coventry Provident
* Derbyshire
* Dunfermline
* Eastbourne
* Essex Equitable
* Frome Selwood
* Gainsborough
* Gateway
* Greenwich
* Guardian
* Halifax
* Hampshire
* Haywards Heath
* Heart of England
* Hendon
* Herts and Essex
* Ilkeston Permanent
* Kent Reliance
* Ketley's
* Lambeth
* Lancastrian
* Leamington Spa
* Leeds Permanent
* Louth, Mablethorpe and Sutton
* Mercantile
* Mid Sussex
* Mornington
* National & Provincial
* North of England
* Northern Rock
* Norwich and Peterborough
* Nottingham Imperial
* Peckham
* Portman
* Portsmouth
* Regency
* Rowley Regis
* Scarborough
* Sheffield
* Shepshed
* St Pancras
* St Stephen's
* Staffordshire
* Standard
* Stroud & Swindon
* Sun
* Surrey
* Sussex County
* Temperance
* Town and Country
* Tynemouth
* Universal
* Walthamstow
* Wessex
* West Cumbria
* West of England
* Woolwich

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Virgin Group

Assets|

| Lifestyle|

* Active
* Balloon Flights
* Experience Days
* Red
* Voucher
* Wines

|

Travel /
transport|

* Atlantic
* Holidays
* Galactic
* Hotels
* Chicago
* Las Vegas
* Limited Edition
* Natirar
* Necker
* Roof Gardens
* Ulusaba
* Virgin Australia Holdings
* Australia
* Regional
* Oceanic
* Voyages

Music|

* Megastores
* Virgin Music Group
* Caroline Records
* Records
* V2 Records

Money|

* UK
* Australia

* Media

* Connect
* Virgin Fibra
* Virgin Media O2
* Virgin Media UK
* O2 UK
* Virgin Media Ireland
* Television
* Virgin Mobile
* Chile
* Ireland
* Kuwait
* Poland
* Saudi Arabia
* Plus

Radio|

* UK
* Canada
* Halifax
* Montreal
* Toronto
* Kitchener
* London
* Windsor
* Winnipeg
* Edmonton
* Calgary
* Vancouver
* Victoria
* Italy
* Dubai
* Turkey
* Lebanon
* Romania

Former|

* America
* Books
* Brides
* Cars
* Care
* Charter
* Cinemas
* Comics
* Connect Airways
* Flybe
* Tigerair Australia
* Digital
* Digital Help
* Drinks
* Cola
* Vodka
* Electronics
* Virgin EMI
* Energy
* Express
* Festival (Australia)
* Festival (England)
* Festival (North America)
* Films
* Games
* Gaming
* Green Fund
* Health Bank
* Heaven
* Hyperloop
* Interactive
* Limobike
* Limousines
* Little Red
* Megastores (UK)
* Media Television (UK)
* Mobile (Australia)
* Mobile (France)
* Mobile (India)
* Mobile (South Africa)
* Mobile (UK)
* Mobile (USA)
* Money (South Africa)
* Money (US)
* Virgin Music
* Nigeria
* Orbit
* Plane Handling
* Play
* Produced
* Radio Free
* Northern Rock
* Oüi FM
* Racing (Electric)
* Racing (F1)
* Radio (Jakarta)
* Radio (Jordan)
* Radio (Kelowna)
* Radio (Ottawa)
* Radio (UK)
* Classic
* Groove
* Xtreme
* Virgin Radio France
* Samoa
* Sun
* Trainline
* Trains
* CrossCountry
* East Coast
* ExpressCoach
* Virgin Trains International
* Open Access
* USA
* West Coast
* Travel City Direct
* Vacations
* V Australia
* Vie
* Virgin.net

People|

* Richard Branson
* Stephen Clarke-Willson
* Nik Powell
* Steve Ridgway

Other|

* "Dirty tricks" campaign
* Losing My Virginity
* Timeline of Richard Branson's business ventures
* Unite (charity)
* Virgin Earth Challenge

* Category
* Commons

55°00′37″N 1°37′35″W﻿ / ﻿55.0103°N 1.6265°W﻿ / 55.0103; -1.6265

Authority control databases: National |

* United States
* Israel

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template