Virgin Money Sponsors Britmums Blogger Initiative

Virgin Money Sponsors Britmums Blogger Initiative

LONDON, March 14, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

    Virgin Money is sponsoring a competition run by blogging network Britmums aimed at
uncovering the best practical money saving tips and stories from mummy bloggers around the
UK. Two winners will each receive a GBP500 prize to help them start their own nest egg for
the future. As well as creating video interviews on money-saving tips with top bloggers to
get things started, Britmums will also be hosting a live Twitter event later this month.

    Backed by Virgin Money's Stocks and Shares ISA team, who are providing the prize
money, the initiative aims to help people who might want to save or invest for the future,
but who don't feel that they have enough money to spare each month.

    Scott Mowbray, a spokesman for Virgin Money, said: "Mums are often the unofficial
guardians of family finances and day-to-day expenditure, so they have some great insights
into where the savings can be made. We hope that this initiative will provide inspiration
for anyone who is looking to put a little bit of money aside each week, whether it's for a
rainy day or to invest in one of our products."

    The competition is open to anyone who submits a tip or story to the competition page
on the Britmums website, and two entrants will be randomly chosen to receive the GBP500
prizes.

    The competition will run beyond the end of the financial year on the 5th of April,
which is the deadline for this year's ISA applications, and will close at 17:00 BST on the
10th of April. All the tips and stories collected will be made available on the Virgin
Money website when the competition closes.

    Anyone wishing to find out more should visit the Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA
page, where terms & conditions are also available
http://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/isa/stocks-and-shares

    About Virgin Money

    Virgin Money announced the acquisition of Northern Rock plc from Her Majesty's
Treasury on 17 November 2011. The deal completed on 1 January 2012. The acquisition
included:

    - 75 Northern Rock branches

    - One million customers

    - c.GBP14bn mortgage book

    - c.GBP16bn retail deposit book

    - c.2,100 employees

    Combined with Virgin Money's existing business of three million customers, the
enlarged Group will have over four million customers.

    The combined business will operate under the Virgin Money brand.

    Virgin Money's business ambition is to make "everyone better off" - this philosophy
underpins our approach to business by offering good value to customers, treating employees
well, making a positive contribution to society and delivering a profit to shareholders.

    Virgin is the official sponsor of the London Marathon, the biggest annual fundraising
event in the world. Virgin Money leads the London Marathon sponsorship with the ambition
to help runners raise GBP1/4 billion over 5 years and will use its infrastructure, online
capability and financial expertise to deliver that through Virgin Money Giving.

    Northern Rock plc

    On 1 January 2012, Northern Rock was acquired by Virgin Money.

    Northern Rock is a bank, authorised by the FSA as a deposit taker and mortgage lender.
It offers savings accounts and mortgage products to customers in the UK. New products are
offered through both direct channels - including a national branch network - and mortgage
intermediaries.

Source: Virgin Money

Contact: Scott Mowbray - +44(0)1603-215-950