Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money organisation is to buy nationalised lender Northern Rock in a £747m deal, the Treasury has announced.

The Kidlington-based tycoon intends to keep all the bank’s 75 branches open including the outlet in High Street, Oxford and all will be re-branded as Virgin Money.

The operational headquarters of the combined business will be in Newcastle, while Virgin Money has pledged no further compulsory redundancies beyond those already announced for at least three years.

Sir Richard said: "Virgin has a history of entering new sectors to improve service and provide value for customers. We plan to do the same in banking."

The takeover is expected to be completed by the end of the year.