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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.
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…
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Source : skynews
