Nationwide members demand Special General Meeting so that Virgin Money takeover cannot proceed without a vote

THURSDAY 11TH APRIL 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nationwide members demand Special General Meeting so that Virgin Money takeover cannot proceed without a vote

Swindon, UK – Campaign organiser, Mikael Armstrong, has delivered a petition of almost 1,000 names to the head office of Nationwide Building Society, calling for a vote on behalf of society members on the proposed takeover of Virgin Money. 

Launching the ‘Give Nationwide members a say’ campaign, Mister Armstrong says he and other members have been ‘gagged and ignored’ by the building society despite multiple attempts for it to follow established procedure. 

Nationwide management and board have so far denied members a say on the proposed £2.9 billion takeover of Virgin Money, despite repeated calls to do so. Members are therefore now requesting a Special General Meeting under the society’s own rules, to pass a binding resolution that states: the takeover of Virgin Money must not proceed without the approval of a majority of Nationwide members.

The society is yet to answer direct questions sent to the Society Secretary over a week ago, asking for clear answers for why a vote on the proposed acquisition has not been organised as per the law, and for the practical details of how a Special General Meeting can be organised to achieve a member vote.

Time is now running out. Under the society’s rules, a Special General Meeting cannot be held for a period of 4 months starting 4th May 2024 – a lock out period which begins one month after the end of the society’s financial year – with a notice period of 21 days usually required before a meeting is held.

To comply with these dates, and in the absence of any answers from the society, the campaign has been forced to proceed based on its best interpretation of the rules: 500 members of the society (who have been customers for 2 years or more) must put their request for a Special General Meeting in writing, by end of day Friday 12th April.  

Therefore Nationwide members who would like to vote on the proposed takeover of Virgin Money are urged to email the Society Secretary by the end of today, using the template provided by the campaign. 

Mikael Armstrong, organiser of the “Give Nationwide Members a say” campaign, commented: 

“I started the petition to give Nationwide members a say on the proposed takeover of Virgin Money. At various stages along the way, I have been gagged or ignored – just like other Nationwide members.

“My first effort to promote the petition online was taken down from a leading internet forum. The petition itself on change.org was delisted from Google search results. Now Nationwide is stalling, by so far failing to provide answers on simple procedural questions to bring about a resolution for a member vote.

“The board and management of Nationwide appears to be going to extraordinary lengths to rush through a deal to fill the pockets of Virgin Money shareholders with Nationwide members’ capital, and without detailed due diligence and proper consideration at the expense of the society’s members.

“Nationwide members want – and must be given – a vote on the proposed takeover of Virgin Money. Denying the society’s members, its own customers and owners, a vote on the deal is now an obscene show of arrogance.

“The entire episode has become a unedifying spectacle of senior Nationwide management being completely out of touch the the views of members and, in all likelihood, many staff too.

“The board is attempting to use very large sums of money without any meaningful oversight, in the process enriching their friends and cronies with money that is not theirs to spend.

“It has not even been established that these actions by the board are even lawful.

“I ask all Nationwide members to submit their request for a Special General Meeting in support of the proposed resolution immediately using the template provided on the campaign website – https://nationwide-virgin-money-member-vote.org.uk

“This will allow for a better understanding of the pros and cons of the deal and, after a suitable period of scrutiny, a member vote.”

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

For the “Give Nationwide Members a say” campaign

Contact Mikael Armstrong

via email at NWVMvote@gmail.com 

or visit https://nationwide-virgin-money-member-vote.org.uk for more information.

Nationwide members demand Special General Meeting so that Virgin Money takeover cannot proceed without a vote

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