THE man who led Newcastle-headquartered Virgin Money through its stock market flotation is leaving the business, it was confirmed yesterday.

Lee Rochford is to stand down as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and as an Executive Director of the Company.

Mr Rochford joined the bank to lead it through its Initial Public Offering which completed successfully in November 2014, and the business has performed strongly since then.

Having achieved this objective, Mr Rochford and Virgin Money have agreed that now is the right time to develop his career elsewhere, the company said in a statement. As a result, he will step down as CFO and as an Executive Director of the Company with immediate effect and Dave Dyer who is currently Strategy Director, and previously CFO of Virgin Money, will undertake the role of CFO for an interim period. He will be supported, as necessary, by Mr Rochford who remains available to the company until the end of his notice period.

Virgin Money is undertaking a search for a replacement for Mr Rochford, and will update the market when a permanent successor has been found.

The company's board recognised the contribution made by Lee through a significant period of growth and development for the Company.

Glen Moreno, Chairman of Virgin Money said: “I would like to thank Lee for his contribution, both to the Board and as Chief Financial Officer, and wish him well for the future. We are well-placed to find a talented successor to take the business forward”.

Chief Executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia said: “I have known Lee for many years, and together we achieved the successful listing of Virgin Money on the London Stock Exchange. Lee made an invaluable contribution to our IPO and to our first year as a listed business.”

Mr Rochford said: “I am proud of what we have delivered together at Virgin Money in the past two years, and I have achieved what I set out to do when I joined the business. I am ready now for a new challenge outside of Virgin Money and I wish Jayne-Anne and all of the team every success for the future.”