Ailing Virgin Atlantic is looking to raise up £900m just days after it said it was unlikely to secure a government bailout.
The carrier was originally looking for an additional £750 million , liquidity injection but has upped its request in the expectation of an extended recovery period for aviation.
Virgin Atlantic has cut jobs hard, laying off a third of its workforce – so many in fact that reports have emerged that it doesn’t have enough pilots to fly its restored route schedule. It has also closed its base in Gatwick airport.
Virgin is looking to secure the cash by the start of July.
The cash will be used to boost Virgin Atlantic’s business.
Alvarez & Marsal are set to be appointed as administrator should the bailout talks fall through.
The proposed support package will see Virgin Atlantic’s existing shareholders — Virgin Group, which owns 51 per cent of the company, and Delta Air Lines, which owns 49 per cent — inject around £250m of fresh funding to prop up the airline.