Acquisition as a Growth Strategy - Virgin Money - Assignment Example

Analytical Report – Acquisition as a Growth Strategy Table of Contents Introduction 4 Task1 5 Critical Analysis of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money 5 SWOT Analysis of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money 5 PESTEL Analysis of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money 8 Ansoff Matrix of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money 11 Benefits of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money 12 Problems of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money 13 Task 2 14 Alternative Strategies for Growth for Virgin Money 14 Alternative 1: Joint Venture 14 Comparative Strengths of Joint Venture 14 Comparative Weaknesses of Joint Ventures 15 Alternative 2: Strategic Alliance 16 Comparative Strengths of Strategic Alliance 16 Comparative Weaknesses of Strategic Alliance 17 Task 3 18 Competence Based Strategic Management Analysis 18 18 Dynamic Cornerstone 18 18 Systematic Cornerstone 20 Cognitive Cornerstone 21 Holistic Cornerstone 22 Conclusion 22 Introduction In present days’ competitive business environment, it is quite challenging for an organisation to expand the business for survival. Apart from continuous development of products and services, there are several strategies for organisations in order to achieve growth quickly. One such strategy is acquisition strategy which is often considered as the exclusive province of business for large organisations. Growth by using acquisition strategy is quicker and a less risky proposition compared to other strategies such as increasing the market or sales. Moreover, acquisition provides organisations with numerous benefits such as easier funding, complete managerial control and higher economies of scale (Mustafa & Horan, 2010). The advantages of expansion through acquisition is not merely restricted to marketing, but also expanded for attaining several other advantages such as easier finance, lower risk and increased product portfolio. The paper will analyse the acquisition strategy of Virgin Money by using techniques such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis and Ansoff Matrix. Furthermore, the paper will also define the other alternatives which might be pursued by Virgin Money as a growth strategy. The paper will also recommend how Virgin Money can build a sustainable advantage by using the four cornerstones of “competence based strategic management”. Task1 Critical Analysis of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money In November, 2011, Virgin Money had acquired a British bank named Northern Rock which was critically affected by the mortgage crisis. This acquisition would help Virgin Money to expand its business reach in the UK banking market (Anderson, 2011). SWOT Analysis of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money Strengths The acquisition of Northern Rock by Virgin Money will provide easy integration of all facilities provided by Northern Rock and will have positive impact on the growth of Virgin Money. The acquisition strategy can ensure Virgin Money to make a strong presence in the banking industry of the UK. Virgin Money has the capability to incorporate acquisition with fewer disturbances and it will provide great advantage not only to Virgin Money but also to the complete Virgin Group, because the acquisition will help to provide financial support to other Virgin Group businesses. In banking industry, it is significant for a company to constantly improve the distribution of their products. Through acquisition of Northern Rock, Virgin Money can definitely increase and improve services such as internet banking, retail banking and other facilities. Therefore, the acquisition can provide excellent growth prospects for Virgin Money in the banking business of the UK. The other advantage of Virgin Money due to the acquisition of Northern Rock is the increased source of income. Through acquisition, Virgin Money can inevitably acquire the client base of Northern Rock which can provide immediate income from them. Besides, the acquisition will also help to gain experienced employees from Northern Rock, which will make much easier for Virgin Money to implement new strategies which can be feasible for the company (Business Insights Ltd, 2011). Weaknesses There are several potential weaknesses that Virgin Money needs to face due to acquiring the Northern Rock. The most significant weakness is investment of money. Acquisition of business requires lots of money due to integration of new services and organisational system which can make the Virgin Group much vulnerable for any kind of changes or fluctuations in the economy. Though acquisition is made with the intention of expanding the business, Virgin Money will not gain instant cash flow due to purchasing of Northern Rock. The reason is that Virgin Money first has to recover all the outstanding expenses of Northern Rock. Virgin Money needs to invest additional money for increasing the probability of success in the market. Due to bankruptcy, Northern Rock has already attained much negative publicity in the banking industry, therefore current owner i.e. Virgin Money will have to renegotiate any unsettled agreements which the previous owners have left unpaid (Business Link, n.d.). The other weakness of acquisition is resistance of employees. The existing employees of Virgin Money might not accept the new supervisors or managers. Besides, employees of parent organisation i.e. Virgin Money might require to spend significant amount of time for instructing the people of acquired company i.e. Northern Rock, which in turn can negatively impact on their productivity and delay the business operations of the whole company. The acquisition may also require significant amount of time for the new employees to adjust with the working style or organisational culture of Virgin Money. As a result, the finalisation of acquisition procedure can become quite time consuming process which might exceed the scheduled budget of Virgin Money (Business Link, n.d.). Opportunities The acquisition of Northern Rock by Virgin Money can provide the opportunities of increasing the market share in the banking industry. Without putting much effort, Virgin Money can gain loyal customers. With the acquisition of Northern Rock, Virgin Money can also concentrate to expand their business on the emerging banking market such as Asia or Middle-East countries in future. Through acquisition strategy, Virgin Money can reduce the risk of volatility in the market, because increasing number of businesses can help to combine the profits which in turn can recover any loss. Thus, the acquisition has provided the opportunity for Virgin Money to survive even in bad economic conditions. Acquisition strategies can provide the opportunity to reduce the cost. Due to introduction of new business unit, Virgin Money can anticipate to minimise the operational as well as the capital spending by merging two businesses. Furthermore, acquisition will also provide the opportunity for increasing the revenue through better products and services portfolio management. Threats The distressed or insolvent organisations are easy target for acquisition; however, it is related with several problems as well as threats, which a company needs to face after acquisition. The most significant risk which Virgin Money can face is the legal risks in terms of negotiation of contracts or rights of third party in the acquired organisation among others. Virgin Money can also face the threat from loyal customers. As, Northern Rock had gained negative brand image, therefore it is likely that several customers had became disloyal to the brand and had already swapped to certain other companies. Also, Virgin Money can face threat of loss due to financial reform (such as tax rearrangement). Furthermore, the acquisition of Northern Rock within banking industry can generate antitrust action against Virgin Money by other competitors (Mazars, 2012). PESTEL Analysis of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money Political Analysis The political environment has considerable impact on any kind of business. In the UK, the financial system is controlled by banks, Financial Services Authority (FSA) and treasury (Online Tutoring School, n.d.). Due to recent financial crisis, the Northern Rock was bound to be “nationalised” by the British government as a provisional measure. Therefore, the acquisition of Northern Rock had resulted in letting the British taxpayers to avert from the activities of owing banks during crisis or insolvency (Finch, 2011). Economic Analysis The economic environment where the acquisition of Northern Rock had taken place was quite unreliable. Northern Rock was incapable to protect itself during economic crisis. Therefore, the acquisition of Virgin Money is regarded as a significant part for recovering and strengthening the economy of the UK. As a result of acquisition, Virgin Money can increase the value for money and raise the choice of customers about several financial products (SquareDigital Media Ltd, 2011). Social Analysis In the UK, the economic crisis had turned society against the basis of its own wealth. Due to credit crunch, the socio-cultural environment of the UK was impacted by high lending rate of housing as well as other mortgages. The organisations of the UK as well as British people started to spend less and it had also reduced the amount of exports. The total number of household expenditures was also reduced and demand had reduced due to reduction in public outflow. The acquisition of Northern Rock can be an important step to address the social problems. Through acquisition, Virgin Money can fix the problem of bank lending demand by introducing several financial products in the market. By concentrating on supply of money, Virgin Money can impact on the socio-cultural environment of the UK. Technological Analysis The technological impact of acquisition of Northern Rock is huge. It can provide several technological advances to the organisation. The acquisition of Northern Rock can contribute to increased technological performance through successful introduction of new technologies, new products, and new procedures of conducting business activities. Virgin Money can use the capabilities of Northern Rock for further development of productivity and bring innovative products or services in the banking market (Hagedoorn & Duysters, 2000). Environmental Analysis Acquisition can immediately impact on the internal as well as external environment of business. The acquisition of Northern Rock can change the philosophy, strategic activities and cultural interconnection of Virgin Money with the other brands, which can change the internal working environment of the company. Virgin Money can also retain the talented employees of Northern Rock which in turn can create a positive working environment. The acquisition of Northern Rock can also impact on the external business environment of banking industry. For instance, it can increase the competition among banks about providing better financial products and services (Rhodes, 2004). Legal Analysis The legal as well as governing framework of a country has huge impact on the performance of any organisation. Through the acquisition of Northern Rock, Virgin Money can face several legal challenges due to changes in tax structure or changes in shareholders’ profit. Ansoff Matrix of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money By applying Ansoff matrix in the acquisitions strategy of Virgin Money, it can be identified that the company peruses for diversification strategy. The acquisition of Northern Rock will not only provide Virgin Money a new retail banking market, but will also deliver new innovative products and services to the new customer segment in order to expand the banking business. The following Ansoff matrix will illustrate the acquisition growth strategy of Virgin Money: Market Penetration Market Development Product Development Diversification Source: (SMALE Consulting Ltd, 1994). Benefits of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money There are several benefits that Virgin Money can gain through acquisition of Northern Rock which are as follows: Increased Product Portfolio: As Virgin Money has already several financial products in place, such as “Credit Cards” and “Insurance” products; the acquisition of Northern Rock can provide the benefits of increasing the product portfolio. As a result, it can increase the capability of Virgin Money to introduce new products and services and raise the customer base. Customers: The other potential benefits, Virgin Money can get by acquiring Northern Rock is regarding customers. As both organisations serve the banking customer segment, it will be easy for Virgin Money to develop products or services according to the requirements of customers. Geographical Advantage: Geographical advantage is significant for any organisation to expand the customer base as well as the business. By acquiring the Northern Rock, Virgin Money will easily gain the geographical advantage because Northern Rock has several branches in the UK which is profitable for Virgin Money. Brand Image: Virgin Group is known internationally and it also has reputable brand image in other industries such as mobile, consumer goods and airline among others. Through acquisition of Northern Rock, Virgin Money can also get accepted as a banking brand. Competition: In the retail banking sector of the UK, there are several large players which presently dominate the market. The acquisition of Northern Rock is a significant step for entering in the retail banking segment of the UK which is characterised by high level of competition. In order to remain competitive in the retail banking industry, organisations need to implement aggressive strategies. Through acquisition, Virgin Money will be able to provide competitive products and attractive interest rates on services which are vital to survive in present days’ competitive business environment (Stanley St Labs, 2012). Problems of Acquisition Strategy of Virgin Money Funding: The major problem as a consequence of acquisition of Northern Rock is funding. In order to acquire Northern Rock, Virgin Money had invested huge amount which needs to be recovered in order to gain profit. Organisational Culture: The different organisational culture can become a problem for Northern Rock. There can be resistance towards change within employees about new organisational culture or new way of performing business operations in Virgin Money. Improvement of Products and Services: Virgin Money will need to prove itself as a better retail financial organisation in front of customers in order to succeed in the banking industry. If Virgin Money fails to develop exciting offers and provide exceptional services and successfully highlight their unique benefits in terms of new product development then the whole acquisition will become in vain. Customers: Virgin Money can face problems with respect to customer behaviour. The customers of Northern Rock received different benefits than Virgin Money; therefore the parent company can face obstacles due to changes in services or products unless it satisfies the requirements of customers. A constant level of good customer services is required for Virgin Money to retain the customers of Northern Rock and attract new customers. Task 2 Alternative Strategies for Growth for Virgin Money Apart from acquisition strategy, Virgin Money could have also perused for other joint relationships strategies for growth such as joint venture and strategic alliances. Alternative 1: Joint Venture Virgin Money could establish joint venture with Northern Rock as a growth strategy. Joint venture is considered as a long-standing partnership where both companies contribute assets, equities and risks. The joint venture can reduce the capital expenditures or threats of market entry (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, 2006). Joint ventures are intended for achieving the benefits of vertical incorporation without complete acquisition. Comparative Strengths of Joint Venture Joint venture could help Virgin Money to share the risks of market as well as the profits of business. Joint venture could reduce the operational expenses and make the business tasks of Virgin Money quite easier than acquisition. However, the time period of joint venture will rely on the real agreement between two companies. Though there are no specific time periods for joint venture, it could provide Virgin Money an identified state in the market and a target to achieve certain goals within specific time period. Apart from the risk sharing, joint venture would provide other benefits to Virgin Money as well. The most important among them is access to banking market information. Through joint venture, Virgin Money can get access to the UK banking market by using the knowledge and experience of Northern Rock and develop strategies for growth. Both the companies could mutually develop new products or services with different ideas. Joint Venture can help to lessen the risk of business. Through joint venture, Virgin Money can diminish the risk by sharing the assets and other resources. It will help to increase the industrial abilities by joint research and development. In general sense, joint venture is pooling the resources to accomplish particular objectives (Business Link, n.d.). The other strength for conducting joint venture is cost. Joint venture would provide cost advantages for Virgin Money which can be diverted to improvement of technology or development of other business operations. As a result, it would reduce exploration expenses and increase the revenue margin of Virgin Money (Business Link, n.d.). Comparative Weaknesses of Joint Ventures The most potential weakness of joint venture which Virgin Money could face is management problem. The administrators of Northern Rock might be more practiced at decision making compared to their foils of Virgin Money. As a consequence, it can result in resistance and less collaboration within employees. If there is no distinct decision making procedure on joint objectives and approaches, any plan taken by Virgin Money would fail. The other weakness of joint venture is loss of control. Joint Venture could deprive Virgin Money from gaining complete control over management, and as a result it could lead to disagreement between parties. In joint venture, it might be impossible for Virgin Money to recover the money spent. Furthermore, there is always the risk of loss of exclusive information about business from both sides (Barringer & Ireland, 2011). Alternative 2: Strategic Alliance The other alternative which can be pursued by Virgin Money as growth strategy can be strategic alliances. Strategic alliances can provide rapid growth for Virgin Money at the fraction of cost of acquisition. In this competitive business environment increasing the business alone by acquisition strategy might not be fruitful for an organisation. There is need for right partner with whom an organisation can develop alliance which can generate value for customers in the market (Augustine & Cooper, 2009). Comparative Strengths of Strategic Alliance Irrespective of the business or types of market, strategic alliance can provide a company the best possible method to compete in present days’ networked economy. Nowadays, the organic growth alone is not sufficient for accomplishing the essential growth rate. Rapidity in the market is the core to survive for any organisation, and strategic partnership is the most significant way which can improve the rapidity of an organisation. The complexity of business is increasing day-by-day, and it might be difficult for Virgin Money to possess complete expertise in the field of banking industry. Thus, strategic alliance with Northern Rock could allow Virgin Money to provide ranges of products or services by spending less money. Through strategic alliance, Virgin Money would easily provide present customers several back-end products which in turn can increase the amount of money transactions and revenue. The other strength of strategic alliance is the increasing number of sales personnel. The strategic alliance could provide Virgin Money skilled employees and opportunities to absorb the knowledge and techniques for performing business activities. Strategic Alliance could lead towards faster relevance of customers’ problems. As a result, it would increase the rapidity of customer service and generate large customer base. The other advantage of strategic alliance which Virgin Money could get is strengthening the business presence. Through aligning both businesses, Virgin Money could easily get the opportunity to approve the brand and can strengthen the integrity as well as solid presence in the banking industry. Owing to large number of employees with different tactical thoughts, Virgin Money can come with unique business concepts (Gonzales, 2001). Comparative Weaknesses of Strategic Alliance Though there are several strengths, Virgin Money could get from strategic alliances instead of acquisition, also there are quite a few weaknesses of the strategic alliance. The most significant weakness of strategic alliance is complete exposure of business performances in front of the partner company. By strategic alliance, any unique technology or distinct working styles of Virgin Money would be revealed towards Northern Rock, which can become a significant disadvantage for Virgin Money if Northern Rock turns out to be a competitor in future. The other weakness of strategic alliance as a growth strategy is differences in organisational culture. The different organisational culture with respect to communication, coordination, work approach, operational practices can lead to difficulties in business. It requires much time to develop trust within managers of both organisations. Increased level of commitment is required to make strategic alliance effective (Barringer & Ireland, 2011). In strategic alliance, there is always the risk of change in mind regarding the purpose of partnership. Several reasons can lead to breakdown of strategic alliance such as market fluctuations, accomplishment of individual objectives, changes in plans, and changes in focus among others which can significantly damage the competitive advantages of Virgin Money (Cojohari, n.d.). Task 3 Competence Based Strategic Management Analysis “Competence based strategic management theory” signifies businesses as open systems of wealth and resource movement which are organised and matched for value creation and value sharing. There are four perspectives or in other words “Four Cornerstones” in the “competence based strategic management theory”, which is ‘dynamic’, ‘systematic’, ‘cognitive’, and ‘holistic’ (Sanchez & Heene, 2010). Dynamic Cornerstone The dynamic cornerstone of an organisation denotes to the alterations in the internal environment which can impact on management of resources and ultimately help to create value for the company in the market. The significant step for gaining sustainable competitive advantage in the banking market of the UK is better management of tangible as well as intangible resources. Better resource management can increase the profitability of Virgin Money by optimisation of resource utilisation and reduction of ‘bench time’. It can also create goodwill and high level of customer loyalty which in turn can transform into sustainable competitive advantage (Sanchez & Heene, 2010). Management of resources can provide Virgin Money the capability to move beyond strategic project management to strategic portfolio preparation. Virgin Money should undertake the following processes in order to build a sustainable competitive advantage: Understand the Venture: Virgin Money at the outset needs to understand the venture appropriately in order to forecast the sales and the revenues. The objective of understanding the venture is to identify the resources (tangible or intangible) which are essential to ensure all-in-one coverage of business requirements. Virgin Money should use the right matrices in order to develop better analytical models and get sufficient time to make key decisions (Sanchez & Heene, 2010). Recognise the Crucial Components: In order to manage the resources effectively, Virgin Money should recognise the crucial components of its business system. The crucial components can be the most expensive resources of the company (such as talented employees) which is costly to obtain or discharge. Identifying them could help Virgin Money to effectively manage them for business purposes. Recognise the Environment: Building sustainable competitive advantage requires identifying the business environment on which the resources can be utilised. The business environment typically creates the stage for new set of demand forces and requirements which generally results in applicability of additional resources. Therefore without proper understanding of business environment, Virgin Money will be unable to use the resources or build additional resources to fulfil the market demand. Detect the ‘Hotspots’: For each crucial component, Virgin Money needs to recognise the hotspot i.e. those spots which have significant impact on resource consumption, organisational performance and organisational stability. After successfully recognising the venture and its crucial components, business environment and the hotspots, Virgin Money should develop strategies to recover the hotspots identified and apply the resources to accomplish the business objectives or forecasts (Kircher & Jain, 2004). Systematic Cornerstone The systematic cornerstone denotes to the awareness that a company performs as a system of inter-reliant components which cooperatively shares the similar goals. The inter-reliant components can effectively generate and distribute value to the customers by their mutual interactions. Identify the Gap: In order to accomplish competitive advantage, Virgin Money should develop the business management procedure in such a way so that it can uphold a constant flow of essential resources within organisation (Sanchez & Heene, 2010). Virgin Money should ensure effective flow of resources within organisation. It needs to identify any gap in their organisational management system to understand their impacts in future. Identifying gaps can provide an input for Virgin Money to improve the business process or plan for any systematic changes (Potochi & Brocato, 1995). Leadership: The leadership is one of the most significant components for attaining success in the market. In order to build sustainable competitive advantage, Virgin Money must develop leadership strategies which must be ideal and serve a grand purpose. Leadership strategy can help Virgin Money to preserve an effective working environment with constant sharing of relevant information within organisation, and therefore it can ensure better communication, honesty and faith within organisation (Potochi & Brocato, 1995). Involvement of Employees: In order to improve the organisational system, Virgin Money should involve employees for human resource improvement as well as any kind of change process within organisation. It can generate a spirit of teamwork and increase the performance of employees (Potochi & Brocato, 1995). Elimination of Identified Gaps: Virgin Money should also need to eliminate all hindrances as a part of business management procedure improvement. Removing the barriers in organisational management system can improve the technical work procedure of Virgin Money and it can provide quality products and services to the customers (Potochi & Brocato, 1995). Understanding Requirement of Customers: Ultimately, Virgin Money should understand the requirements of banking customers. The customer oriented strategy can help Virgin Money to react quickly to customers’ activities (Potochi & Brocato, 1995). Cognitive Cornerstone Cognitive perspective is identified as recognising new products or services and responding to the market opportunities. In the UK banking market, Virgin Money should conduct those activities which can assess the external as well as internal business environments. The analysis of business environment starts with analysis of the mission and the objectives of organisation. After identifying the mission and the vision, Virgin Money should analyse the industry through several methods such as PEST analysis, Porter’s Five Forces analysis, and Micro-environment analysis among others. After understanding the information through environmental analysis, Virgin Money should articulate strategies which can effectively address the known threats or prospects in the industry. In order to implement strategy, Virgin Money needs to develop budget and programs by utilising the resources. The way in which strategies are to be applied will determine the success of Virgin Money in the UK banking market. Thus, increased care should be taken by Virgin Money to formulate strategies and convey the reasons behind implementing them to the employees. The success of strategies is also dependent on the assessment or control through appropriate monitoring and adjustments as required. In order to assess the performance of their products and services, Virgin Money should define the parameters (such as number of customers’ saving accounts, volume of savings of customers and frequency of money transactions among others). To understand if the products or services are performing at satisfactory level, Virgin Money should define a target value and compare them with the actual value. It will help Virgin Money to comprehend the complex and the dynamic banking environment so that the company can successfully apply current strategies and plan for future approaches for further improvement of the management procedure. Holistic Cornerstone The last cornerstone of “competence based strategic management” is holistic cornerstone. The holistic perception requires organisations to perform sustainably. Therefore, in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage, Virgin Money should formulate the new organisational design in such a way so that all inter-reliant components can perform mutually in pursuing the business objectives. In order to ensure effective cooperation between all components within organisation, Virgin Money should improve the management process by better human resource management, better strategic planning and better analysis of business requirements. Conclusion The acquisition of Northern Rock is a significant strategic move by Virgin Money in order to expand the banking business in the UK. This acquisition can have significant impact on the banking industry of the UK. However, in order to make this strategic acquisition successful, Virgin Money will have to cope up with several challenges. Unless Virgin Money can develop products and provide services which are for the best interest of public as well as the organisation, the growth strategy will not prove as beneficial for the organisation. A high level of strategic fit between Northern Rock and Virgin Money is required to effectively formulate future strategies and to apply them in the market. Banking is one of the most critical businesses as it comprises the money of common people. Therefore, in order to accomplish competitive edge, Virgin Money needs to win the trust of people and make loyal customers. References Augustine, M. S. & Cooper, C. D., 2009. Getting the Most from Strategic Partnering: A Tale of Two Alliances. Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 37-51. Anderson, R., 2011. Virgin Money Looks to Join the Mainstream. BBC. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15774329 [Accessed February 21, 2012]. Business Insights Ltd, 2011. Best Practice Company Analysis. 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