RESCUE 'COULD COST VIRGIN £200M'

Friday February 15,2008

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group may be forced to pay as much as £200 million to the Government if it succeeds in rescuing Northern Rock, a report said.

The Government is understood to be pushing for a better deal for the taxpayer under Virgin's offer as the group hammers out the final details ahead of Saturday's reported deadline for revised proposals.

It is thought that the Government is hoping to secure between £100 million and £200 million for the taxpayer if Northern Rock is revived within three years, according to the Financial Times.

Virgin's bid is still thought to be in pole position for the troubled bank after the Government reportedly told Northern Rock's management that their "self-help" proposal did not come up to scratch.