Backing for Virgin Money takeover

CYBG shareholders were 99.92 per cent in favour of the deal and Virgin Money shareholders were 99.98 per cent in favour.

CYBG and Virgin Money said they remain confident that completion of the offer will occur in the fourth quarter of 2018.

David Duffy, chief executive of CYBG, said the deal will create “the UK’s first true national competitor to the status quo”.

It is not yet clear whether the Yorkshire Bank brand name will survive after the takeover. It is understood that retail customers will switch over to the Virgin Money brand name and then it will be tested on small and medium-sized businesses.

The plan is that once the deal goes through, there will be a three-year period to switch to the Virgin Money banner.

However, Mr Duffy has said that no decision has been taken yet as to whether the Yorkshire Bank brand will disappear and much of the detail surrounding the deal has still to be decided.

CYBG has said that over 1,500 staff could be axed following the deal.

In July, CYBG said it expects growth in the mortgage market will ease until the end of the year. The firm said its third-quarter trading was in line with its expectations after it reported a 3.8 per cent rise in mortgage balances to £24.2bn.

The company said new business lending to small and medium-sized businesses rose 4.7 per cent to £7.1bn in the three months to June 30.

Britain’s housing market has cooled since the 2016 Brexit vote, which led to a rise in overall inflation and increased uncertainty among investors.