Richard Branson to set up Virgin Cruises

HE‘S got planes, mobile phones, trains, music labels and banks. So what on Earth is left for the Virgin brand?

Sir Richard Branson at the Convention centre. Pic Annette Dew

ENTREPRENEUR Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is to set up a holiday cruise business.

The announcement comes weeks after a fatal crash sent his Virgin Galactic space tourism business reeling.

The British billionaire is to team up with private investment firm Bain Capital to build two new cruise ships, which will be headquartered in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area of the United States, the business partners said in a joint statement.

“We plan to shake up the cruise industry and deliver a holiday that customers will absolutely love,” Branson said.

Virgin is set to build two new cruise ships to be based out of the US.

The 64-year-old tycoon has fought to stop October’s crash of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane — which killed the copilot — from tarnishing the image of his sprawling business empire.

Virgin Group encompasses more than 400 companies in sectors as including trains, wines, music labels, mobile phones, airlines and banking.

The group has typically entered new markets by promoting itself as a fresh, upstart rival offering better customer service.

Virgin and Bain did not disclose when their new venture would be operational for “competitive reasons”, or the financial terms of the tie-up.