VIRGIN Group confirmed last night that Richard Branson was considering floating his Virgin Atlantic airline on the stock market to raise funds for its further expansion.
A Virgin spokesman said: ''We have talked to people about it recently, but no decision has been taken . . . we would like to expand the airline a lot more over the coming years.''
His remarks followed reports in two Sunday newspapers that Virgin Atlantic could come to the stock exchange as early as this autumn with a market capitalisation of #1000m.
By the end of this year, Branson, 47, could end up listing two of his transport companies on the stock exchange to raise cash.
A flotation of Virgin Rail, which controls the Cross Country and Inter City West Coast franchises, has been on the cards since last summer. The train-operating companies need more cash to invest in new faster trains.
But Virgin Atlantic, the UK's second-largest airline after British Airways, is by far the bigger company. It owns 20 planes and operates 12 high-density routes out of Heathrow.
Yesterday's press reports said the airline might either be floated off alone or as part of its parent, Virgin Travel.
The other main subsidiary of this holding company is Virgin Holidays, which took 250,000 people on package holidays to the Caribbean, South Africa and Hong Kong last year. It is now starting to attack the short-haul market in the Mediterranean under the Virgin Sun label.
The Mail on Sunday said City merchant banks were urging Branson to sell off a 40% stake in Virgin Atlantic through a flotation to give the airline the financial muscle to take on BA more effectively.
The Virgin spokesman said that Virgin Atlantic would announce several new flight destinations in the Caribbean this week.
A flotation of Virgin Atlantic might well prove popular with individual investors, especially if it is spiced up with shareholder perks such as flight and holiday discounts. The promise of 10% holiday discounts stimulated public demand for Thomson shares which start trading today.
Branson's competitors in the travel industry might also welcome a stock exchange listing of Virgin Atlantic for very different reasons.
The move would force Branson to divulge more information about the finances of his sprawling business empire, which he took private in 1988. Many believe that the multi-millionaire is using healthy profits from Virgin Atlantic to prop up other less lucrative activities.
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