Regulator blocks Richard Branson’s bid to bring back Virgin trains July 3, 2025 Richard Branson’s bid to bring Virgin trains back to the UK has suffered a crushing setback following a ruling from the rail regulator. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on Thursday said it had rejected applications from Virgin Management and two other companies for track access rights to run services on the West Coast [...]
Room for ‘at most’ one more Eurostar rival, says regulator June 5, 2025 There is space for “at most” one more rail operator at Eurostar’s key east London train depot, the UK’s railways watchdog has said. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has been assessing capacity at Temple Mills International depot after Eurostar claimed it was “basically full.” It said on Thursday there was room for “at [...]
Uber unveils tie-up with Eurostar challenger May 21, 2025 Uber is planning a partnership deal with one of the firms seeking to oust Eurostar as the sole operator of the Channel Tunnel. Gemini Trains, spearheaded by the Labour peer Lord Berkeley, is one of several competitors looking to break Eurostar’s 30-year monopoly on cross-channel services. Passengers will be able to book tickets via the [...]
Heathrow: Sir Richard Branson eyes terminal as Virgin Atlantic and British Airways push for more control May 5, 2025 Sir Richard Branson could end up taking over one of Heathrow Airport’s terminals if the airport succumbs to pressure from airlines to reform its regulatory model. The billionaire’s airline Virgin Atlantic is plotting to seize greater control of the UK’s busiest hub alongside its long-running rival, British Airways’ parent company IAG. The two carriers are [...]
Week in Business: The billionaires backing Britain May 1, 2025 BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Virgin supremo Sir Richard Branson, businessman John Caudwell and JP Morgan top dog Jamie Dimon – quite the quartet – have all made some fascinating interventions this week. Let’s start with BlackRock, the world’s largest investor, running more than $11 trillion on behalf of pension funds, private clients and sovereign wealth [...]
Branson-backed bike sharing firm Beryl more than doubles losses April 24, 2025 Losses at Beryl, a bike sharing company backed by two of Sir Richard Branson’s children, have more than doubled despite an uptick in its turnover. In accounts filed almost four months late with Companies House, the business has posted a pre-tax loss of £7.5m for the 12 months to 31 March, 2024. That total compares [...]
Third Eurostar challenger steps up March 24, 2025 A third operator seeking to challenge Eurostar’s monopoly on Channel Tunnel services has been announced. Gemini said on Monday it had submitted an application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) regulator for access to Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot, which is the only place in the UK to park and maintain high-speed, cross-Channel trains. [...]
Why Virgin Atlantic boss won’t meet British Airways chief alone November 25, 2024 The boss of Virgin Atlantic has revealed the legacy of the dirty tricks scandal in the early 1990s will mean he will never meet his British Airways counterpart alone. Shai Weiss has said that while he has “professional respect” for Sean Doyle, he remains cautious and does “not want to get caught out”. Three decades [...]
Virgin Active: Billionaire owner of Richard Branson-founded gym chain eyes UK listing November 13, 2024 The billionaire majority owner of Virgin Active is looking to list the business in the UK, according to reports. South African Christo Wiese owns the company private equity firm Brait, while Richard Branson’s Virgin Group holds a 16.8 per cent stake. A listing is “most likely” to be in the UK, with a secondary offer [...]
Richard Branson-backed 23andMe axes hundreds of jobs November 12, 2024 Genetic testing company 23andMe, which is backed by Virgin billionaire Richard Branson’s former company VG Acquisition Corp, has revealed plans to make 200 redundancies in a bid to regain stability after a major slowdown in the business over the last year. The company is cutting 40 per cent of its workforce to help its continued [...]