How I bought Necker Island

Authored by virgin.com and submitted by jimfixx
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What do you do when hear that there’s an island, with the same name as your company, up for sale? You call up the people selling it and enquire!

To be honest with you, I had never heard of the ‘Virgin Islands’. I had no idea where they were located or that they were actually called the British Virgin Islands. But one Thursday in 1978, I was told that they existed and that I could potentially own one. I had been madly trying to come up with a way to impress a girl I had fallen for, so I rang up the realtor, and expressed my interest. We were still in the early days of Virgin Records, and I by no means had the cash to buy an island. Luckily, the realtor didn’t know this and offered me an all expenses paid trip to see the Islands that weekend. I agreed to go on one condition – if I could bring a guest.

To my delight, the object of my affection agreed to join me on the trip. I fell in love twice that weekend – once as our helicopter (supplied by the realtor of course!) swooped over the turquoise water and white sandy beaches of Necker Island, and again when I saw the smile on the face of the beautiful girl who sat beside me on the journey. Together we strolled around the Island and dreamed up plans for turning it into a haven for musicians. Those dreams were quickly spoiled when the realtor quoted the ‘discounted’ asking price of $6 million. Smitten with the unspoilt paradise, and keen to impress my new love, I offered the highest amount I could afford: $100,000. As you can imagine, the realtor was less than impressed, and left us high and dry to find our own way back home.

A year later, a charming man named Derek Dunlop arrived at my houseboat in London and explained that nobody else had made an offer on Necker, and that the owner of the Island was desperate to sell. Virgin Records was in a much better position than it had been a year before, so I quickly agreed to a purchase price of $180,000 – the only condition was that I would need to build a resort on the Island within four years. It wasn’t that smooth sailing, however, and luckily Derek was on hand to help me through a formal procedure called the Aliens Land Holding License. The local Governor didn’t like my “links with the music world”, and judged me to be an unsuitable investor. So that the deal could pass I asked the Chairman of Coutts bank to vouch for me. Thankfully, he told the Governor that I was perfectly respectable, and the sale went through.

So that’s the story of how I bought Necker Island, and it also marks the origins of our luxury property portfolio, Virgin Limited Edition.

As for the girl… I married her there 11 years later in front of all our family and friends, and our two lovely children, Holly and Sam.

elfratar on June 12nd, 2020 at 15:54 UTC »

In April 2020, Branson said he will mortgage his private Caribbean island to raise money to help his Virgin Group empire, as he pleaded with the UK government to step in and save his Virgin Atlantic airline from collapse. Branson made the pledge as he tried to convince the government to give his airline a £500m loan to help it through the “devastating impact this pandemic continues to have”.

This plea for taxpayer support comes after the government rejected Virgin Atlantic’s initial proposal for a £500m aid package. The Treasury rejected the proposal, and told Virgin to explore other ways to raise cash before seeking state assistance.

Branson is facing mounting criticism for seeking financial assistance from the taxpayer, rather than using his own fortune to rescue the airline. Many pointed out that the entrepreneur has paid the exchequer no personal income tax since moving to the tax-free British Virgin Islands 14 years ago.

AdvancedAdvance on June 12nd, 2020 at 14:44 UTC »

Logically follows that if he bought an island to impress a girl, she might one walk down the isle.

childrenofkorlis on June 12nd, 2020 at 14:17 UTC »

Having a private island is really that good ?