Virgin Money, the financial-services business owned by Sir Richard Branson, has hired three senior executives to support its move into high-street banking.
The move comes ahead of an expected bid by the group for the network of 300 branches put up for sale by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Finlay Williamson, a former RBS executive, has been hired as finance director. Ian Cornelius, former Bradford & Bingley director of savings, will be banking director. Marcus Ezekiel, a former legal executive at Lloyds, has been parachuted in as commercial director.
The three will report to Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Virgin Money's chief executive - who has had to face repeated questions over the strength of her management team since the group's failed bid for Northern Rock in 2007.
Virgin has already taken its first steps to moving on to the high street with the acquisition of Church House Trust, a small West Country bank.
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The move saw Virgin acquire a banking licence, which it can now use to support a nationwide expansion. Gadhia and her team were subjected to the full approval process required by the Financial Services Authority to obtain permission to do the deal.
Virgin has been talking to a number of parties that could help fund a renewed approach for Northern Rock, which is to be sold by the government as part of its response to a European Commission state aid inquiry. It is unlikely a sale of Northern Rock will be sanctioned before the next election.
RBS, however, has already launched a sale process for its network of branches across England and Wales that it has been ordered to sell by Brussels. Expressions of interest in the chain, sold under the brand name Williams & Glyn's, have to be lodged by the end of the month.