Entrepreneur David Johnson is building an empire in the British Virgin Islands to rival Richard Branson’s Necker April 30, 2015 When Sir Richard Branson arrived in the British Virgin Islands, he was sufficiently smitten that he bought his own island, Necker. It’s easy to see why. This Caribbean tropical paradise enjoys a sunny season stretching to 10 months of the year, while gentle waves from a clear blue sea lap the BVI’s many sandy beaches. [...]
Branson gives it some welly April 27, 2015 SIR RICHARD Branson’s been busy of late – opening the first Virgin hotel earlier this month (in Chicago), repeating calls for Britain to remain in the EU, and even slamming Yahoo’s policy of limiting the extent to which its workers are allowed to work from home (he thinks it’s a good thing – and as [...]
April Fools’ Day 2015: The best (and worst) jokes from BMW, Sun Life, Confused.com, Richard Branson and the London Eye April 1, 2015 Alright, so this year the various political weirdnesses (Joey Essex interviewing Nick Clegg, anyone?) have caused an air of ridiculousness to hang over Westminster for several weeks now – but outside the London bubble, the once-a-year gag fest that is April Fools' Day has kicked off in earnest. Here are some of the best (and [...]
Richard Branson might jump on the electric car bandwagon March 20, 2015 Richard Branson has hinted that his Virgin brand might jump on the electric car bandwagon (the wagon bandwagon?) at some point in the not-too-distant future. The entrepreneur already has his own Formula E team – an electric version of Formula One which features battery-powered cars racing at speeds of up to 140 mph. But when [...]
Stagecoach share price jumps on East Coast mainline rail franchise win with Richard Branson’s Virgin November 27, 2014 Stagecoach and Virgin are the joint winners of a bid to run the East Coast mainline route, netting the government £3.3bn over the next eight years. The route between London and Edinburgh has been publicly run since 2009 after previous operator National Express ran into difficulties and gave up the contract. Stagecoach and Virgin, which [...]
Princess Diana’s wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel talks Catch-22s and Richard Branson November 23, 2014 You'd be hard pressed to get one up on Elizabeth Emanuel when it comes to heydays – and the fashion designer hasn’t just had one. At the age of 28, she designed the wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer – a day she wouldn’t trade for the world, she says. And ten years later, [...]
Virgin Galactic crash: Richard Branson says “Space is hard… We will persevere” after space test flight accident November 1, 2014 Richard Branson has said Virgin Galactic will continue with its space tourism venture after the fatal crash of one of its spaceships during a test flight. “Space is hard – but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together,” Branson wrote in a blog post as he headed to the crash site in the Mojave [...]
West Coast main line: Has Richard Branson forgotten the virtues of competition? October 23, 2014 Richard Branson’s famous guerrilla campaign to break British Airways’s grip on Heathrow Airport is safe in history as a victory for competition and passenger choice. The tenacious campaign fought by Virgin to secure access and slots at Heathrow dominated the UK aviation scene for most of the 1990s, and ultimately led to lower fares and [...]
Richard Branson: How passion can change your life October 12, 2014 Buzzwords can get tiresome, and “passion” is one that’s thrown around liberally. We’re told it pays to be passionate in our jobs, and that passionate leadership is the best kind. But however fed up most might feel with the word, Richard Branson has always been passionate about passion – arguing it got him to where [...]
Richard Branson has spoken: Apple Pay is the future, Bitcoin regulation is a good thing and Sidecar is the startup app to watch September 25, 2014 Morning Wire chatted with Richard Branson about his views on startups, why affordable space travel is imminent and what drove his decision to invest in a drone business. What’s the most exciting startup at the moment? I’m lucky in that I meet exciting startups virtually everyday. One that’s especially grabbed my attention lately [...]