Ex-Monarch owner to ramp up Virgin talks
GREYBULL Capital, the former owner of failed airline Monarch, is among a handful of investors set to enter advanced talks to bail out Virgin Atlantic.
Sir Richard Branson’s airline is hoping for a breakthrough this week as the billionaire races to secure emergency financing.
Insiders say the coming days will be ‘pivotal’ as the board finds out whether it is likely to receive private and public investment after also lobbying hard for Government aid.
Last week, Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss gave an online sales pitch to a shortlist of 12 major investment firms and circulated projections that Virgin argues chart a course for its survival. Private equity giants Greybull and Centerbridge Partners are understood to be interested in the next stage of talks.
Virgin Atlantic is seeking more than £500 million in debt and equity funding following a collapse in revenue.
Greybull has airline experience having bought a majority stake in Monarch in 2014. Monarch collapsed three years later in 2017 at an estimated cost of £60million to the taxpayer. Co-founder Marc Meyohas told The Mail on Sunday last year it was vital that investors did not ‘run away from companies in difficulty’.