LONDON (Reuters) – Virgin Atlantic said on Monday it had received 400 million pounds ($530 million) of new investment from its shareholders, Virgin Group and Delta Air Lines, to bolster its balance sheet and pay down debt.
The investment, designed to help Virgin recover from the pandemic, is split 204 million pounds from Virgin and the rest from Delta, with the ownership structure remaining unchanged. Richard Branson’s Virgin Group owns 51%.
Virgin, which flies the highly profitable U.S. to UK route, had to fight for its survival last year as its planes remained grounded for months.
It raised cash, including a 1.2 billion pound rescue deal, and axed almost half of its staff to cut costs.
Virgin Atlantic said on Monday that with the full support of shareholders and creditors, it was set to recover after the U.S. borders reopened to British nationals, and as it benefits from pent up demand for next year.
“Virgin Atlantic’s business has transformed, allowing them to emerge from the pandemic a stronger airline,” Josh Bayliss, CEO of the Virgin Group.
($1 = 0.7547 pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle)
