Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic is looking for a listing of the company on the London stock exchange to raise money.
The move could see stake of Richard Branson being slashed in his business. The shares of the firm would be offered to private investors and large City firms.
Richard Branson’s Stake
Virgin Group owns 51% of the company, with Delta Air Lines in the US owning the remaining portion of the business.
Understandably, the Virgin hired City consultants and analysts to make IPO plans, but the airline called it a mere speculation floating around.
Like many of its peers in the industry, Virgin Atlantic have been hit hard by the coronavirus collapse.
COVID’s Impact On The Airline Industry
In April, the airline recorded a loss of £ 659m in 2020 after passenger numbers dropped by 80%, and announced thousands of job cuts and furloughs.
The stock prices of airlines such as British Airways owner IAG and Easyjet are still much lower than pre-Covid levels amid widespread speculation among some investors about how long it will take for the industry to recover.
News of Virgin’s stock market listing was first reported by Sky News. The report said Virgin Atlantic advisers, including l Citi and Barclays bank had in recent weeks been pushing for more potential investors to subscribe to the offering and they have responded positively to the idea.
Stock Market Listing
Virgin Atlantic revenue relies heavily on UK-US services, and the airline hopes to return to services as soon as possible. Earlier this year, chief executive Shai Weiss said he did not expect to see a significant drop in fares as the trip would resume.
The flotation will be the first time ever when the shares of Virgin Atlantic are publicly traded, and the Virgin Group stake is likely to drop below 50%.
Virgin Atlantic Business Empire
Sir Richard founded the Virgin Atlantic in 1984, and its success enabled him to establish a business empire now incorporating the Virgin Galactic space travel arm.
Sir Richard had tried to get help from the UK government, which rejected his application, and then he used his vacation spot in Necker Island as collateral for raising money.
