Virgin Monday, which tried to purchase Northern Rock well before it went national two year back, today managed to gain a strong foothold in retail banking sector through the takeover of Church House Trust, and the deal valued the regional bank at 12.3 Million Pounds.

The group, which a part of Sir Richard Branson’s vast Virgin empire, revealed that the deal, which has already managed to gain approval from the Financial Services Authority, would “provide the platform from which [to] develop a retail banking business in the UK offering a full range of products to consumers under the Virgin Money brand”.

Compared to Virgin's prior banking target, the Yeovil, Somerset; based Church House Trust seems to be a minnow. For the financial year till December 31, 2008, it has reported a total operating income of 4.05 Million Pounds.

"The Church House Trust business offers us a strong platform for growth. Virgin Money aims to bring simplicity to the UK banking market which has traditionally been a complex sector", said Sir Richard.

After the deal closes, Virgin Money will be injecting about 37 Million Pounds worth of new capital into the business.