Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Branson to land fresh £400m funding injection for pandemic-hit Virgin Atlantic Airways

Branson to land fresh £400m funding injection for pandemic-hit Virgin Atlantic Airways

The billionaire tycoon and Delta Air Lines are in talks about a further capital-raising to help steer the transatlantic carrier through the winter, Sky News learns.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is drawing up plans for a fresh £400m funding injection as prospects fade for an initial public offering (IPO) of Sir Richard Branson's flagship company.

Sky News has learnt that the transatlantic carrier is in talks with its shareholders and other financial stakeholders about raising additional capital to see it through the traditionally quieter winter months.

City sources said the amount being sought by Virgin Atlantic's management was still being finalised, but would inevitably involve Sir Richard contributing another chunk of his fortune to the pandemic-battered airline.

It is expected to be announced by the end of the year.

This week, the Virgin Group tycoon sold $300m of stock in New York-listed Virgin Galactic - bringing the total he has raised from selling shares in the space tourism business during the pandemic to more than $1bn.

Virgin Atlantic has been helped by the recent resumption of flights between the UK and US - the most profitable part of its business - but is braced for a difficult winter amid oil price volatility and other inflationary pressures.

The double take-off from Heathrow


Earlier this month, it staged a joint take-off from Heathrow with British Airways, a rare sign of collaboration between the bitter rivals, to mark the restart of flights to New York's John F Kennedy airport.

Virgin Atlantic lost more than £650m last year as the COVID-19 crisis decimated the global aviation industry, and it expects to have made a further substantial loss in 2021.

Sky News revealed in August that Sir Richard was plotting a surprise listing on the London Stock Exchange as it pinned its hopes on a glut of demand for transatlantic travel.

However, despite positive talks with institutional investors, the need to return to normalised trading patterns has prompted them to shelve the plan indefinitely.

A significant improvement in the airline's financial performance could yet pave the way for it to be revived, although that is unlikely for at least a year, according to one fund manager who held discussions with the company.

An IPO would have marked the first time since Virgin Atlantic's launch in 1984 that it has sold shares to the public - and would almost certainly see Sir Richard relinquish overall control of the business.

Virgin Atlantic has sought several rounds of funding since the start of the pandemic, the most notable of which was a £1.2bn solvent rescue package in September last year which included £200m from Sir Richard, a loan from the American hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and substantial contributions from creditors.

It has also landed hundreds of millions of pounds more - in multiple instalments - from the sale of several Dreamliner aircraft and a further loan from Virgin Group.

The latest financial injection includes payment deferrals and other creditor assistance as well as cash, according to a City source.

Virgin Atlantic, which is majority-owned by Sir Richard's Virgin Group, was forced to place administrators on standby last year as the pandemic-induced crisis deepened.

Delta Air Lines owns the remaining 49%, with the company having scrapped a deal in late 2019 that would have seen Air France-KLM acquiring a 31% shareholding from Sir Richard.

Virgin Atlantic has nearly halved its workforce since the start of the pandemic - a move that has helped to drive significant longer-term cost savings.

The company has been cushioned by Virgin Galactic's stock price


The airline is not the only part of Sir Richard's business empire which has felt the pressure of the pandemic.

The UK arm of Virgin Active also came close to collapse after putting a restructuring deal to landlords, lenders and shareholders.

His Virgin Voyages cruise operation finally embarked on its maiden journey during the summer after more than a year of setbacks.

Nevertheless, the billionaire tycoon has been cushioned by Virgin Galactic's stock price.

A Virgin Group spokesperson said this week that the latest sale would allow him to support his "portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that continue to be affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to supporting the development and growth of new and existing businesses".

In July, Sir Richard flew aboard a Virgin Galactic trip to the edge of space, days before his even-wealthier rival, the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, did the same on a Blue Origin vehicle.

Sir Richard is now taking Virgin Orbit - the commercial satellite launch group - public through a merger with a US-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said the airline did not comment on speculation.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×