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Northern Rock

Indeed. Councillor Nick Forbes, whom I quoted earlier, also said:"““The decision by Virgin Money to make Newcastle their home sends a message of confidence in our city and the wider North East.””" Virgin Money backed that up by saying that it would not make any compulsory redundancies beyond those already announced by management for the next three years, and I think that that provides a good level of assurance for Northern Rock's staff. When I visited Northern Rock on Thursday and talked to some of its staff, they were clearly pleased that the uncertainty that had hung over the business for the last four years and acted as a brake on its development had been removed. They look forward to its continued growth under Virgin Money.