Richard Branson Claims Virgin Group Lost ‘Very Big Deal’ After Brexit Vote, Warns Of Coming British Recession
Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson claims his company, Virgin Group, killed a substantial deal because of Brexit. When the U.K. voted last week to leave exit the European Union, the company decided not to move forward with a planned acquisition.
“We were about to do a very big deal, we canceled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs,” Branson said in an interview on Tuesday. “I suspect we’ve lost a third of our value, which is dreadful to people in the workplace.”
A Virgin spokesperson confirmed the company’s apprehension about Great Britain’s future in light of the Brexit vote.
“The Virgin Group is concerned by the ongoing instability and this will impact new expansion in the next few years in the U.K.,” the spokesperson said.
With an estimated worth of $4.8 billion, Richard Branson is one of Britain’s most successful business owners. His company, along with many others, took a considerable financial hit after last week’s Brexit vote. By Monday afternoon, stocks worldwide lost roughly $3 trillion by most projections.
The U.K. financial services division of Branson’s company, Virgin Money, lost nearly 41 percent of its value just in the last few days. The company also faces other challenges, as many agreements will need to be renegotiated, including Virgin Atlantic’s EU aviation deal with the United States.
Extremely critical of leaving the EU, Branson warned on his blog that the exit vote would cripple Britain’s economy.
“The Leave campaign had advised concerned citizens not to listen to the ‘experts’ and ‘the scaremongers’ and that the economy would be just fine. It’s not fine, we are heading towards a disaster.”
Branson blames pro-Brexit politicians of causing pandemonium in the markets. According to him, the British pound has plummeted to levels not seen in three decades and the entire country will soon be hit with a major recession. Branson also predicts banks, nervous about Britain’s monetary situation, will soon stop lending money.
Speaking to the Guardian, Branson said many Chinese investors are pulling out of Great Britain, and he thinks the job loss will be significant.
“I met with a group of Chinese businessmen yesterday morning who have invested heavily in England and who are now going to stop investing and withdraw investments they’ve already made. Thousands and thousands of jobs will be lost as a result of this. Thousands of jobs that would have been created will be lost and the knock-on effect will be so dire.”
Everyone he has met with from overseas shares the same negative opinion of Brexit, he added.
Calling Brexit a “mess,” the business mogul is continuing his campaign to keep Britain in the EU. He believes the citizens were misinformed and is calling for a second vote on the matter. A petition asking for a new referendum with almost four million signatures was sent to Parliament. On Sunday, nearly 80,000 names were removed from the appeal due to alleged fraud.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister David Cameron said last Thursday’s vote of 52 to 48 in favor of leaving shows what citizens want, and the British government intends to move forward on it. Branson thinks the Brexit vote “opened a Pandora’s Box” of terrible consequences and wants people to get another chance to reevaluate their choice.
Previously living in a huge mansion on a 200-acre estate in London, Branson moved to a private island in the British Virgin Islands three years ago. Since he does not reside in the U.K., the 65-year-old CEO does not have the right to vote in the country’s elections. However, Virgin Group employs more than 50,000 people in Great Britain, and Branson predicts Brexit will continue to cause severe harm to Virgin Group and its employees.
[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]
