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 £500 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 £500 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.£14bn mortgage book

    - c.£16bn 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 £¼ 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.