Virgin Atlantic has completed financing transactions relating to two Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The deal, made in partnership with Griffin Global Asset Management and Bain Capital Credit, will strengthen the airline’s balance sheet, according to Virgin Atlantic.
On 4 September 2020, Virgin Atlantic secured a privately funded, solvent recapitalisation of the airline in order to ensure that it can continue operations. This latest financing opportunity – a first for Griffin Global Asset Management – is intended to allow the airline to pay down debt and improve its cash position, to further strengthen the airline’s resilience until passenger flying resumes at scale.
With the mass rollout of effective vaccines underway in many countries and the implementation of testing regimes, the airline reports that customer demand for travel in 2021 has been gradually returning. Meanwhile, on the back of a record 2020, Virgin Atlantic Cargo is continuing to keep global supply chains running by transporting vital medical supplies, playing an important role in supporting the effort to combat Covid-19.
Oliver Byers, Virgin Atlantic’s chief financial officer, said, “Since the beginning of the crisis, we have taken decisive action to reduce our costs, preserve cash and protect as many jobs as possible. As provided for in the recent privately funded solvent recapitalisation of the airline, we have continued to explore additional financing opportunities to strengthen our balance sheet into the new year.
“We are proud to be partnering with Griffin on this financing opportunity regarding two of our Boeing 787-900s. Their flexibility and speed has been particularly impressive and we welcome this show of confidence from our new partners. This deal will allow Virgin Atlantic to further bolster our cash position and we are confident that we will emerge a sustainably profitable airline, with a healthy balance sheet.”
Ryan McKenna, CEO of Griffin Global Asset Management added, “The Virgin Atlantic team has taken impressive steps to strengthen their business throughout this very challenging period and we are confident that they are positioned to outperform going forward. The Griffin and Bain Capital teams are excited to contribute to Virgin’s success for many years to come.”
