The bank said it had started a search process to identify a new chairman.

Pettigrew, a 61 year-old Scot, was previously chairman of CYBG Plc which bought Virgin Money in 2018 to create Britain's sixth-largest lender.

The combined group is betting on the high profile brand of Richard Branson's Virgin empire and growth in business banking to challenge larger rivals such as Lloyds, RBS and Barclays.

(Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; editing by Jason Neely)