Was it only a decade ago that Sir Richard Branson joined the wilder ranks of global warming theorists and committed to spending $3 billion to tackle climate change? The billionaire pledged all profits from his Virgin air and rail interests over the next 10 years to combating rising global temperatures. Sort of…

His $3 billion “donation” would not go to independent charities, it would be invested in a new subsidiary of the Virgin conglomerate, Virgin Fuels. So it was just a re-investment of profits.

Blair’s Downing Street spokesman was full of praise: “This is an extremely generous offer. The prime minister met Richard Branson and other business leaders in California in the summer and came back very impressed with the positive steps all the companies were taking to reduce their impact on global warming.” Bill Clinton slapped him on the back, Al Gore was ecstatic

As ever with Branson things might have been a little over-hyped. Virgin Fuels doesn’t exist today. It appears to have mutated into the Virgin Green Fund (VGF) as a way of making investments in renewable energy and earning fund management fees. The fund unfortunately closed down in 2014.

Did Branson ever put that promised $3 billion of profits over the decade from his transport groups into “fighting global warming”? It seems not? So on Earth Day Guido asks, as he asks governments around the world from Australia to Britain to bail out his transport businesses, what happened to the profits he pledged? Did they go to fight global warming? If not, could they not be used to bail out his airlines?

You remember our story from three weeks ago, “Branson Offers Necker Island as Security for Virgin Bailout“. It was our bit of April Foolery. It was Guido’s way of making the point that at a time when many small business people are on the verge of losing everything, including their homes. In the circumstances any form of taxpayer assistance to Virgin should come first from investors, should be in the form of repayable loans and should be international in line with the ownership. Branson should, we argued, have to put up his home. Because anything less would be taking the taxpayers for fools…

Incidentally as a result of the article we had some correspondence with Virgin’s corporate PR department. Today in an open letter on his company blog Richard Branson pledged to put up Necker Island as collateral:

As with other Virgin assets, our team will raise as much money against the island as possible to save as many jobs as possible around the Group.

Another Guido policy-into-action success…

Though many of you thought Guido’s story about the BBC seeking to switch its revenue extraction from the television licence to a tax on broadband was an unbelieveable prank, it was not. Our story “Branson Offers Necker Island as Security for Virgin Bailout“ was our bit of April Foolery yesterday. It took in most of you, probably because it was too close to reality. Branson is after a bailout, however as far as Guido is aware he hasn’t offered his island home as security. He’s no fool…

Virgin Atlantic has two shareholders, Delta Airlines (49%), and Virgin Group (51%) – until December it was due to be majority foreign owned until the deal with Air France – KLM fell through. Because of this, Virgin’s lobbying of Transport Minister Grant Shapps (and Chancellor Sunak) has focused on the damage the collapse of the airline would do to British manufacturing, Airbus and Rolls Royce have been persuaded to write to the ministers warning them of the knock on economic effects. Ironic, when Virgin’s fleet, according to their last annual report, is mostly manufactured by Boeing. Guido is all for a competitive airline market offering choice, however any asssistance to Virgin should come first from investors, should be in the form of repayable loans and should be international in line with the ownership. Anything less will be taking the taxpayers for fools…

UPDATE: A previous version of this article stated that KLM-Air France owned 31% of the firm, that deal was not finalised.

The aviation industry – now in dire straits –  has until recently been paying out dividends. Last week the Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned that airline shareholders needed to exhaust all other avenues before the Treasury considered “bespoke” deals. At the very least before the airlines get any state aid those dividends should be reinvested by the shareholders to support their firms and any aid should be in the form of repayable loans, not subsidies. Guido understands from a Treasury source that Branson, who has indicated Virgin Atlantic wants a bailout, has today personally told Rishi Sunak that he will put up his Necker Island as security…

Politically savvy Sunak made it clear to him in a previous conversation with Branson that since the high street banks are asking small business owners to put up their homes as security before lending, it would be politically impossible to bailout the billionaire if he too was not putting his home on the line. Whether or not this is just bailout PR is another matter. Necker is worth tens of millions, Branson wants hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money…

UPDATE April 2, 2020: What date was it yesterday?