Rebirth of Virgin met with joy on Gold Coast

THE Gold Coast’s peak tourism boss has welcomed the resurrection of Virgin Australia as a major win for the shattered sector.

US investment giant Bain Capital was yesterday named the new owner of the fallen carrier after its rival bidder, Cyrus Capital, withdrew at the 11th hour.

The sale is expected to go through after a second meeting of creditors in late August.

Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said she was delighted by the sale and said it would provide a much-needed injection of confidence into the market.

“This is good news to have some certainly around the future of Virgin,” she said.

“Having a mid-level carrier suits the Gold Coast’s target markets quite well.

“We know that prior to administration, Virgin brought 46 per cent of all visits to the Gold Coast.

“We look forward to the revival of Virgin and the return of interstate travellers.”

It comes nearly two months after the carrier fell into administration after failing to secure a $1.4 billion bailout from the Federal Government.

Cyrus Capital yesterday said it had withdrawn “due to lack of engagement” by Virgin Australia’s administrator Deloitte.

The State Government has committed up to $200 million to become an equity stake in the airline in a bid to ensure it retains its headquarters in Brisbane.

The move was yesterday welcomed by state Treasurer Cameron Dick.

“This is a great day for Queensland and a great day for Virgin,” he said.

“We’ve now got a firm buyer for Virgin Airlines. And that means when Virgin flies again, it will fly from Queensland.

“We haven’t taken off yet, but we are at the and of the runway and we are ready for take off.”

Deloitte administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said the sale was an “important milestone and a significant achievement” for the airline.

“Bain Capital has presented a strong and compelling bid for the business that will secure the future of Australia’s second airline, thousands of employees and their families and ensure Australia continues to enjoy the benefits of a competitive aviation sector,” he said.

“The Virgin Australia Group entered administration as a direct result of an unprecedented global pandemic which all but grounded its operations while in the midst of a major transformation of the business led by Paul Scurrah and the management team.”

Bain Capital’s Australianbased managing director Mike Murphy said Virgin would return to its “core strengths” and re-establish itself “as an iconic Australian airline”.

“Our investment and plan for the airline will support and celebrate Virgin Australia’s unique culture and protect as many jobs as possible for the short and medium term in a way that will make significant jobs growth possible,” Mr Murphy said.

“We appreciate how difficult the current situation is for Virgin Australia staff.

“They are the essence of the business, and we thank them for their perseverance through this challenging period.”

Bain Capital has pledged to strengthen Virgin’s regional services and focus on offering low-cost services while also servicing business travellers.

Cyrus Founder Stephen Freidheim was “disappointed that it has become necessary to withdraw our offer” but said it was willing to renegotiate.

“Cyrus firmly believes that the Australian aviation industry has a bright future and would be willing to reinstate our offer if the Administrators agree to re-engage in good faith, productive discussions with a view to concluding a transaction that will benefit all key stakeholders – employees, customers, Velocity members and bondholders,” he said.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE REVIVAL OF VIRGIN AND THE RETURN OF INTERSTATE TRAVELLERS. THIS IS GOOD NEWS.

ANNALIESE BATTISTA