Two new Senior Directors have been promoted to extend bank's growing support for large estates and major agri-businesses

Two of Virgin Money's highly respected team of Agricultural Business Managers have been promoted to Senior Director to further strengthen the bank's market-leading support for the UK's agricultural sector. Currently responsible for agricultural & landed estate clients in the South of England, Justin Ellis now becomes a Senior Director of Virgin Money Agriculture in England, and James Heaton, who is responsible for agricultural and landed estate clients in East Lothian & the Scottish Borders takes on the Senior Directors role for Scotland.

With Virgin Money's growing commitment of over £1.5bn in funding to the agricultural sector, both new Senior Directors will continue to take responsibility for the bank's developing client base. They will also have a special emphasis on the large estates and major agri-businesses that account for the biggest proportion of the UK's agricultural industry.

Virgin Money Head of Agriculture for the UK, Brian Richardson, says that these appointments reflect the bank's deep and abiding commitment to the future of farming and agri-business: "Virgin Money has a long track record of providing banking facilities and investment funding for the industry, and these promotions reinforce our commitment to providing support where the industry needs it most.

"The agricultural sector is facing an unprecedented range of challenges right now, and large estates and farming businesses are leading the way in making the changes required to meet those challenges. Our two new Senior Directors have proved they have all the skills and experience to help those clients with their banking services, financial planning advice and the investment funding they need to take our industry forward into a sustainable, productive and economically viable future."

Based in East Sussex and having grown up on the South Downs within an established mixed farming family business, Justin Ellis fully understands the challenges and opportunities that farming estates and rural businesses face.

After graduating from Newcastle University, Justin worked in various farming sectors across the South and East of England, including managing the family dairy farm, and broadened his farming experience in Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. His career in agricultural banking began with the Bank of New Zealand and he joined Clydesdale Bank (now Virgin Money) in 2011. A Professional Member of the Institute of Agricultural Management, Justin continues to lead, support and focus financing solutions to large agri-business and estate enterprises, and has a particular interest in family businesses, diversification and succession.

"Serving the agricultural sector I grew up in has always been a privilege, and this promotion gives more focus to work alongside those large or dynamic agribusinesses who lead from the front. Virgin Money has played a unique role in supporting UK agriculture over generations, and in this new position enables me to deliver dedicated agricultural support to a wider portfolio of those businesses who need our full service, bespoke and relationship-based offering."

Also a graduate of Newcastle University and a Chartered Banker since 2016, Berwickshire based James Heaton started his banking career in 1998 and has worked in this role across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland and Scotland. He joined Yorkshire Bank in 2010 as Agricultural Relationship Manager for the East of England, and then took on the same role back in Scotland for Clydesdale Bank in 2015.

James has developed strong working relationships with more than 90 farm, estate and rural business clients for Virgin Money over the past nine years, helping to grow the bank's agriculture business significantly. He has also brought his commitment to education and communication to mentoring and supporting the professional development of Virgin Money's growing team of specialist agricultural relationship managers in Scotland.

"Our agricultural customers are facing a combination of exceptional circumstances from all sides, including changes in government support, cost, inflation and carbon reduction, and after the Budget a major new uncertainty over their tax planning for succession. Our role at Virgin Money is to understand every client's unique business and find the right financial solutions to enable that business to plot a route through these challenges.

"I am really delighted that Virgin Money has given me the responsibility and the opportunity to help our large estate and agri-business clients move forward, with the authority of a Senior Director. It underlines the bank's commitment to the future of our clients, and it very definitely reinforces mine."