The consortium led by Branson and a group made up of Middle East and US investors - including AIG, WL Ross and First Eastern Investment - has put forward a proposal which would see Northern Rock rebranded as Virgin Money.
Virgin has said it would keep the Northern Rock business intact and retain its links with its charitable arm, the Northern Rock Foundation. However, it has not put a figure on how much it was offering to pay for Northern Rock shares, which have tumbled in value in the past six weeks, or what size of stake it would look to buy.
Should the deal go ahead, the business would be run by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, head of Virgin's financial services business, who has been working with Sir Richard on developing a mortgage business for him.
Branson himself said: "I’ve always believed that it’s Virgin’s role to improve things for customers through great value for money products and services, innovation and great customer service – whichever market we operate in. I believe that if we’re successful we’ll be able to create an exciting new banking alternative for everyone in the UK.
"I and my team have pulled together a heavy hitting consortium that we believe has not only the knowledge and expertise but the financial clout to make a once great British institution great again. We have the opportunity to make a fresh start and build a renewed, confident future for the business and its tremendous staff as a continuing independent public company.
"We have confidence in the British economy going forward; and we are determined to preserve one of the last remaining truly independent UK-owned competitive forces in banking, mortgages and other financial services.”
The battle for Northern Rock is not over yet though as rival suitors JC Flowers and Cerberus, alongside a fourth one yet to be named, appear to still be in the picture.
