VIRGIN Money has revealed its shares will be priced at 283p each when it lists on the London Stock Exchange.

The firm, which bought the ‘good bank’ part of Northern Rock, will be valued at £1.25bn.

Taxpayers will recoup £50m from the sale as a result of a clause in the Northern Rock deal.

Virgin, part-owned by Sir Richard Branson, says shares are expected to start trading officially on Tuesday, November 18, and expects to raise £150m from the sale.

The company intends to use in a drive to boost its share of the UK mortgage lending market to more than three per cent, as well as to lift its credit card lending from £1bn to £3bn by 2018.

Previously, bosses said every one of its 1,700 staff in Newcastle will be awarded £1,000 worth of shares, with directors and senior management, who already have holdings in Virgin, excluded from the share offer.

In 2011, Virgin paid the Government £747m for the so-called ‘good bank’ element of Northern Rock, with the taxpayer retaining the toxic mortgages that led to the Rock’s bail-out.

Bosses agreed to pay £50m to the Treasury should it float before 2016.

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Virgin Money chief executive, added: “I’m delighted to welcome all our new shareholders to Virgin Money.

“Our capability to deliver growth at meaningful scale, the quality of our balance sheet and the fact we are unburdened by legacy issues makes us stand apart from other banks.

“The completion of our initial public offering will see us make a final payment to the Government of £50m as consideration for our acquisition of Northern Rock plc, taking the total paid to over £1bn.”

“As we begin life as a public company, we are committed to maintaining the straightforward, transparent approach to business that we believe helps differentiate us.”