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Virgin Money chief executive Chris Rhodes will step down next month, after the lender’s business was transferred to mortgage giant Nationwide Building Society (NBS) last week following court approval.

Rhodes, who has been on the Nationwide board since 2009, served as its chief financial officer before taking over as Virgin Money boss after Nationwide acquired it for £2.8bn in 2024. He will retire completely from the Nationwide group in September, after leaving the boards of Nationwide, Virgin Money and Clydesdale Bank in May.

Nationwide disclosed a £2.3bn gain in its accounts from the Virgin Money acquisition. It plans to do away with the Virgin brand by 2030.

The UK’s new car market grew by 6.6 per cent in March, typically the busiest month of the year as registration plates change.

New car registrations reached 380,627 during the month, making it the busiest March since 2019, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). About 55 per cent of registrations were by fleet buyers, with the remaining 45 per cent retail customers.

Although registrations of fully electric cars rose by 24.2 per cent, they still only made up 22.6 per cent of the total. This means the market is falling further behind the government’s Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate target, which demands an EV share of 33 per cent this year.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes has called for the targets to be reviewed, since they are not being met despite “record levels of incentives” to encourage take-up.

Volex (VLX) confirmed plans to move its listing from Aim to the London Stock Exchange’s main market, with the switch set to take place in early August.

This would mean the company’s shares would be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE 250 index at the September quarterly review stage. The wiring specialist also launched a £40mn share buyback to be completed over the next 12 months.

Volex recently said trading for its March year-end would be better than analysts’ expectations. It has experienced a boom in demand for cables, which helped to drive sales up above $1.2bn and its operating margin above the top end of its 9 to 10 per cent target range. Volex’s shares ticked up by 1 per cent.