The bank currently has 55 branches in Scotland. 

Across its locations in England, nine will close in Yorkshire, with the rest scattered across the north-east, north-west and the Midlands. No branches will close south of Nuneaton in Warwickshire.

In an announcement declaring the ‘acceleration of its digital strategy’, the bank said it expected to make 112 jobs redundant after the COVID-19 accelerated a consumer shift to online and mobile app-based banking.

Virgin Money said that the group continues “to evolve its operating model to reduce real estate costs along with giving colleagues more flexibility”.

The bank added that the move will allow it to “increase automation, leveraging technology throughout key processes”.

Fergus Murphy, Virgin Money’s group customer experience director, said: “As our customers change the way they want to bank with us and conduct fewer transactions in-store, we must continue to evolve the role of our stores into places where we showcase our products and bring our digital services to life.”

The bank said it intended to find alternative roles for some affected staff, either in nearby branches or other group functions, The Guardian reports.