ASI doubles customer base gained through Virgin Money deal

Joint venture planned

Aberdeen Standard Investments' (ASI) joint venture with Virgin Money will give the investment firm access to six million new customers, double the number originally expected, thanks to the latter being acquired by independent banking group CYBG.

The agreement between Virgin Money and ASI was first announced in March 2018 and will see ASI take over the management of Virgin Money's £3.7bn retail assets (as of June 2018), while also taking a 50% stake in the unit trust business. Meanwhile, independent banking group CYBG announced in June that it would be acquiring Virgin Money, valuing the company at £1.7bn.  In an update today, ASI said a sale and purchase agreement had now been signed to acquire 50% (less one share) of Virgin Money Unit Trust Managers for an upfront cash payment of at least £40m.  The joint venture will now...