British lender Virgin Money UK said on Thursday it will close 39 stores as the company continues to see a drop in footfall and transaction volumes.

"Access to a bank and cash is a fundamental need for all our local high streets," UK's labour union Unite said in a separate statement about the store closures.

Virgin Money UK said that some workers will be at risk of redundancy following the store closures.

(Reporting by Sinchita Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)