Virgin well positioned to deal with Brexit fallout as profits continue to rise

The result marks a strong performance for the lender, which employs 200 at its headquarters in the Scottish capital.

Underlying pre-tax profit rose 53 per cent to £101.8 million as net lending hit £2.2 billion, an increase of 29 per cent, while credit card balances increased 31 per cent to £2.1bn.

The lender also said it is well placed to deal with the fallout of the referendum on European Union membership, although it said it has decided to suspend a move into the small and medium-sized business and unsecured lending arena.

It also noted that the mortgage market could slow, unemployment may rise and interest rates could be reduced and stay low.

Addressing the ‘Brexit’ vote, the bank said: “Virgin Money is in a strong position to deal with a period of post-referendum uncertainty. Since the vote to leave the EU we have experienced continued strong customer demand and no evidence of changes in customer behaviour.”

Chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia said: “Virgin Money is in a strong position to deal with a period of post-referendum uncertainty as a low-risk retail bank with a high-quality asset base and unburdened by legacy conduct issues. We look to the future with confidence.”

She added: “Our strategy is focused on creating a business that can continue to grow, maintaining our excellent asset quality, and successfully delivering sustainable shareholder returns through the economic cycle.

“As part of this, we have decided that it is prudent to defer our SME and unsecured lending plans and focus investment on enhancing our digital capability.”