Richard Branson’s Virgin empire has faced many challenges in its five-decade history, from high-profile legal clashes with British Airways and failed bids to run the UK national lottery to abortive forays into vodka, cola and bridal wear.
The setbacks have been so numerous that overcoming them has become part of the Virgin DNA. Yet the six-month battle to save Virgin Atlantic Airways has been a case apart, involving as it has the business that first truly took the group global and remains its best-known brand.
The battle to stop the carrier from becoming one of the highest-profile corporate victims of the coronavirus crisis was finally sealed on Wednesday after a UK court gave the go-ahead for a £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) rescue built around a loan from private-equity firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management.
