UK: Branson "disappointed" not to get "the Rock"
Richard Branson issued a press release just one and a three quarter hours after the Treasury was due to meet journalists to tell them it intends to nationalise Northern Rock. But his apparently emotional attachment to "The Rock" omits to say something quite important. He had every intention of changing the name of the bank and the name Northern Rock was to be consigned to history, in the future to be seen only in old photos of soccer heroes of The Toon circa 2007-8 season.
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Branson statement:
17 Feb 2008 17:47 GMT
Northern Rock Bid: Sir Richard Branson Statement
LONDON, 17 February -- Sir Richard Branson said:
"All of us in the Virgin consortium are very disappointed that the Government has chosen to opt for Nationalisation. We were very clear the business plan we put forward was robust, conservative but ultimately capable of rescuing the interests of all stakeholders. However we must accept the decision with good grace and hope that the Rock will somehow find better fortune in the future."
We have tried our best to save the Northern Rock and the jobs of the staff. We put all the resources of Virgin's senior management team on this for five months and we believe had a very strong proposal, an experienced team and one of Britain's best brands. Our team will now put all their efforts into turning Virgin Money into a formidable force in the Financial Services industry. We wish the Rock and its staff the best of luck with the future.'
"I would like to put on record my admiration for the professionalism of the team led by Jayne Anne Gadhia. I was enormously impressed by their intelligence and capacity for sheer hard work in devising a business case to save the Rock'.
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