Virgin Loan, also known as the Virgin Personal Loan, was launched by Virgin Money in May 2002. Virgin has been active in financial services for more than 10 years and the Virgin Money brand, 100%-owned by Richard Branson since April 2004, is part of the Virgin group of businesses - a global network that includes travel and transport businesses and a range of entertainment and leisure operations.

Virgin is one of the most easily recognised brands in the UK. It is also well-regarded in many of the business areas in which it operates. You may be considering applying for a Virgin Loan because you are a satisfied customer of one of Virgin's other businesses or because you may be impressed with Virgin Money's claim to cut most of the jargon out of financial services.

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So what's the Virgin Loan like?
The Virgin Loan is a very simple offer to understand. You can borrow any amount between a minimum of £3,000 and a maximum of £25,000 and for any purpose. You can also choose how long it takes to pay back, between a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 72 months. It really is as simple as that - you just choose how much your Virgin Personal Loan is going to be and how long you are going to take to repay it.

The big question is how much will your Virgin Loan cost? Currently the Virgin Loan charges a typical rate of 6.9% APR. That means that most of the people who apply for a Virgin Loan will be offered a rate of 6.9% although some will be asked to pay more.

Many lenders now operate what is called risk-based pricing which means the rate you get offered will be affected by what the lender thinks of you and your financial situation.

Does the Virgin Loan come with any extras?
One of the potential advantages of the Virgin Loan is that if you are borrowing money to purchase a new car, you may be able to save money if you are purchasing a car through Virgin Cars.

You can also take out Payment Protection Cover for your Virgin Loan. Nobody likes to think about falling ill or losing their job but if you do, it may be some comfort to know that your Virgin Loan will be covered by Payment Protection Cover.

If you decide you want to pay the loan off early, which (if you can) is always a sound idea financially, you can pay off the outstanding amount of your Virgin Personal Loan in full at any time. Virgin Money is a rarity in charging no fee for this facility. So if you need to borrow money but believe you may be in a position in the relatively near future to pay off what you owe, you may wish to consider the Virgin Loan.

Is the Virgin Loan right for me?
The Virgin Loan has a competitive APR and is a cheap loan but may not be the cheapest loan available to you. You may be attracted by the idea of the Virgin brand but to make sure you are choosing the right personal loan for you, you should use a comparison tool like Moneyextra's Personal Loan Search.