Virgin Money says Lee Rochford to step down as CFO

Sept 1 (Reuters) - British lender Virgin Money Holdings Plc said Lee Rochford will step down as chief financial officer and executive director of the company with immediate effect.

Rochford joined the company in October 2013 to lead it through its initial public offering which was completed last November. He will be replaced by Strategy Director Dave Dryer on an interim basis, Virgin Money said.

Rochford will remain on contract and serve his notice period until the end of August next year, the company said.

The search for a permanent replacement for Rochford has started.

Virgin Money, which counts itself among the bigger challenger banks in Britain, reported a 37 percent jump in first-half profit.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the company were down 5 percent at 402.8 pence on Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) . (Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)