With the U.K. government demanding that Virgin Atlantic exhaust all options for private financing before it would consider any form of assistance, he had no choice but to weigh asset sales, while asking Shai Weiss, the carrier’s chief executive officer, to begin a search for outside funding.

Political Turn
The issue of aid for Virgin Atlantic also took on a political dimension. Branson’s residency in the British Virgin Islands, where residents pay no income or capital-gains tax, together with more than 3,000 job cuts at the airline, stirred hostility to any funding from the public purse.

Virgin Group says it and its brands pay all required taxes, while the carrier points to the quick agreement on redundancies with employees, in contrast to simmering disputes at rival operators including British Airways.

Branson initially pledged to mortgage his Necker Island retreat to free up cash, though it’s not clear if he did raise money from the 74-acre luxury resort. The focus quickly shifted to Virgin Galactic, which was buoyed during the Covid crisis by optimism about space projects and successful launches by Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX.

Branson raised more than $450 million from Virgin Galactic, which remains his most valuable listed asset. The company has a market value of $4.37 billion following a 51% share price gain this year as of Tuesday’s close in New York.

The entrepreneur has seen the stake he controls in the business, which plans its first launch of space tourists next year, cut to just above a quarter from about 50%. His personal wealth has also taken a tumble, slumping 13% this year to $5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index of the world’s 500 richest people.

Ultimately, though, Branson may consider the cannibalization of Galactic shares as money well spent, rescuing as it does an asset that’s still a standout among a portfolio of more than 60 businesses ranging from a $220 million stake in Virgin Money UK Plc to an African game reserve and a new cruise arm.

Virgin Atlantic was set to fold later this month without the rescue, CEO Weiss had said, his warning given substance by the collapse of sister carrier Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., which called in administrators in March.

Branson had little direct involvement in the Australian firm, with Singapore Airlines Ltd., Etihad Airways PJSC, HNA Group Co. and Nanshan Group Co. each owning about 20% to his 10%.

Still, the entrepreneur is in discussions about re-investing in the carrier following its sale to U.S. buyout firm Bain Capital LP, earmarking about A$100 million ($74 million) to restore his stake.