Petition calling on Nationwide to give members a say in its takeover of Virgin Money on track to hit target needed to call special meeting

Risky move: Nationwide boss Debbie Crosbie 

A petition calling on Nationwide to give members a say in its takeover of Virgin Money is on track to hit the target needed to call a special meeting.

The building society, led by Debbie Crosbie, insists there is no need to consult its 16 million members who own the mutual on its bid for the High Street lender.

Nationwide argues any consultation risks delaying the £2.9 billion deal.

But some members say swallowing Virgin Money, which will increase Nationwide’s size by a third, is risky and want the building society to explain what is in it for customers.

One of them, Mikael Armstrong, says the decision not to give its owners any say on the Virgin deal is ‘an outrageous show of arrogance’. There is ‘absolutely no guarantee’ that buying Virgin would ‘benefit members in any way’, he adds.

Armstrong has set up a petition on the change.org website, which has so far garnered over 400 of the 500 signatures required to a call a special meeting of the society’s members.

If the target is reached he says he will ‘organise the paperwork’ and take the petition to Nationwide’s head office.

Members who sign must also pay a deposit of £50 each.

Experts say the 500 signature rule, which was introduced long before social media was invented, is a low bar. Being forced to hold a one-off meeting would be a setback for Nationwide as it could blow the Virgin deal off course.

A court hearing to approve the Virgin has been set for April 18. If approved, offer documents will be sent to Virgin Money shareholders – who do get a vote – by the end of this month.

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, the bank’s biggest shareholder, stands to net £400 million for its 14 percent stake, plus up to £300 million in add-ons. Nationwide chairman Kevin Parry has already contacted 16 million members outlining the terms of the deal, which takes the building society into business banking for the first time.

Insiders say even if a special members’ meeting is organised, the Nationwide board would oppose any vote on the Virgin deal. Crosbie suffered a setback last week when an advert starring The Crown actor Dominic West was banned for misleading customers into thinking the building society was not closing any branches.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 281 complaints about the ad, including one from rival Santander, which said that Nationwide had recently shut or reduced opening hours at a number of outlets.

The watchdog also found Nationwide had not been clear enough that a promise not to close any more branches would end in 2026. That pledge has since been extended to 2028.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk