Branson (again)

Jaffa_The_Hut

Jaffa_The_Hut

Well-known member
In the news yet again I see whinging that if Virgin Atlantic don’t get a Government handout of £500m right now the Airline will go under.

Can I therefore suggest Mr Branson you get off your arse on your tax haven Caribbean privately owned island and get down to your bank and draw some of your £4 billion wealth out to pay for it.

Feckin cheek as bad as Victoria Beckham. 😡
 
He is out of order for sure, but I dare say a good bit of his wealth is wrapped up in the businesses he owns.
 
Sorry to say but let the company fold once you bail out one the floodgates will open.
Ryanair, Jet 2, Easyjet etc will all be out with their begging bowls along with travel companies or like the o/p says put hand in his own pockets.
 
After all, I read recently that he's worth £500+Million.
How on earth does he manage to scrape through? 🙄
Or is it £5Billion?
 
South African Airlines in big trouble as their Government has refused them a bail out. Several other airlines on the verge as well (Norwegian as an example)
 
He pays no personal taxes to the UK and no taxes on the company dividends he receives which run nto millions.
It’s an absolute no from me. I’d much rather us UK tax payers provide the equivalent in business loans to uk tax payers in need who also don’t already have their own Caribbean Island to fall back on.
I’m out!
 
poolseasider said:
He's worth 5.2 Billion doesn't live here so pays no taxes no sympathy from me.
The company is half owned by Delta so let the Americans bail them out or split the bill.

I see Virgin Australia is about to go under as the government have said no to bailing them out also.
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I didn't know the company was half owned by Delta and up to that point I had some sympathy for Virgin (although not Branson personally)
Generally speaking I'd support a loan to a company that employs British people and which makes a stand against globalisation,but I guess long range air traffic will become the preserve of the big conglomerates.
 
Plumbs said:
I didn't know the company was half owned by Delta and up to that point I had some sympathy for Virgin (although not Branson personally)
Generally speaking I'd support a loan to a company that employs British people and which makes a stand against globalisation,but I guess long range air traffic will become the preserve of the big conglomerates.
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All his companies he has partners with.
 
Jaffa_The_Hut said:
In the news yet again I see whinging that if Virgin Atlantic don’t get a Government handout of £500m right now the Airline will go under.

Can I therefore suggest Mr Branson you get off your arse on your tax haven Caribbean privately owned island and get down to your bank and draw some of your £4 billion wealth out to pay for it.

Feckin cheek as bad as Victoria Beckham. 😡
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Other countries are not giving bailouts to majority shareholder tax exiles or companies still giving shareholder dividends. Seems reasonable to me.
 
poolseasider said:
Sorry to say but let the company fold once you bail out one the floodgates will open.
Ryanair, Jet 2, Easyjet etc will all be out with their begging bowls along with travel companies or like the o/p says put hand in his own pockets.
Click to expand...
EasyJet have already agreed £600m loan with the Treasury. Virgin not deemed to have exhausted all other funding possibilities. I agree with everything said, but VA generates major income and jobs, and is particularly important to Manchester Airport as a gateway to the North. We get no service from BA up here, so it will be interesting to see how things develop.
 
Not really sure that easyjet should have been granted the loan from the treasury either, bearing in mind they paid a dividend to shareholders literally days before they furloughed staff and grounded flights.

Was listening to an interview where the recent US airlines $25 billion rescue package was being discussed: the recent tax breaks for major US corporations (sold as a stimulus package for jobs) which for the airlines was about 25-30 billion went straight into share buy backs, which only benefits C-suite execs and major shareholders.

hey ho
 
Plumbs said:
I didn't know the company was half owned by Delta and up to that point I had some sympathy for Virgin (although not Branson personally)
Generally speaking I'd support a loan to a company that employs British people and which makes a stand against globalisation,but I guess long range air traffic will become the preserve of the big conglomerates.
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virgin airways is 49% owned by delta and 31% owned by air france and klm .lets see if the yanks and french help them out first
 
Costero Poderoso said:
Not really sure that easyjet should have been granted the loan from the treasury either,
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Glad they were i have flights booked with tem 👍 😂
tbf if Branson genuinely needs a loan secured against his assets to keep the airline afloat its should be considered by government,
 
Mervyn King on Newsnight basically saying it makes no sense to let it fold, because the consequences rebound on all of us, regardless of what we think of the owner or him/his company being domiciled in a tax haven (he also suggested this way of operating should be discouraged!).
This all kind of makes sense to me.
 
What’s the problem for us if Virgin goes down? I only see one for the shareholders (yes, I accept some might be pension funds). The aircraft and Heathrow landing slots will be sold to someone else who will employ the staff. And if that doesn’t happen it will because the post-CV world decides it does not need all that gratuitous air travel.

I mean, do we really need to import all that mangetout from Guatemala using tax-free aircraft fuel to sell at £1 a pack in Sainsbury’s ? Or have we now overlooked global warming? Perhaps we might really get a moral reboot for the third rock from the Sun.
 
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Poland has decided that any company which is not HQed in Poland and does not pay corporate taxes into the Polish exchequer is definitely not going to get a loan from them. A few other countries like NZ and Aus are also taking that attitude. The problem for us is that all our pension funds invest in this type of bastard company.
 
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seasideone said:
Virgin Australia went into admin this morning!
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Yup but he only owns 10%. I think the independent/smaller airlines will go under leaving less competition which is a real shame. Bring back Freddie Laker! 😄
 
dangermouse said:
not according to https://centreforaviation.com/data/profiles/airlines/virgin-atlantic-airways-vs
"Virgin Atlantic is owned by the Virgin Group (20%), Air France-KLM (31%) and Delta Air Lines (49%)".
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They are flying partners with Delta the deal was on the table for two years and they pulled out in December .

www.businesstraveller.com

Virgin, Delta, Air France and KLM launch expanded joint venture – Business Traveller

The joint venture represents just under a quarter of total passenger and cargo transatlantic capacity…
www.businesstraveller.com www.businesstraveller.com
 
I’ve no issue with giving them a secured loan, so long as we do it as a strict business deal a la Pawn Stars - offer him a quarter of the value of his island, and if he doesn’t pay it back within a given time, plus interest, we get the lot. And seeing as it’s tax payers money, use it as a cheap holiday destination for people who do outstanding work in the community?
 
Johnno said:
I’ve no issue with giving them a secured loan, so long as we do it as a strict business deal a la Pawn Stars - offer him a quarter of the value of his island, and if he doesn’t pay it back within a given time, plus interest, we get the lot. And seeing as it’s tax payers money, use it as a cheap holiday destination for people who do outstanding work in the community?
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Why should UK stump up all the money when it's half owned by Delta let the Americans put in half.
 
poolseasider said:
Why should UK stump up all the money when it's half owned by Delta let the Americans put in half.
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Not saying we should stump up the whole lot, just give Branson a personal loan (secured on the island). If they need more, then look elsewhere as you say.
My post was a bit tongue in cheek, given that Branson is loaded, dodges paying our tax, and the company isn’t wholly British owned. There’s 1,000’s of small British companies I’d rather help out than his, but, if he’s desperate, milk him.
 
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