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Search resuls for: "Virgin Trains"


2 mentions found


The only other U.S. high-speed line is Amtrak's Acela service between Boston and Washington, D.C., which began in 2000. Brightline began planning in 2012. A 2018 partnership with Richard Branson's Virgin Group to rebrand Brightline as Virgin Trains USA quickly soured. According to the lawsuit, Brightline says Virgin “ceased to constitute a brand of international high repute, largely because of matters related to the pandemic." He said Brightline’s accommodations “compare really well to some of the best trains” he’s taken in Europe, where high-speed rail between cities is common.
Persons: Florida's Brightline, It's, Mike Reininger, John Renne, Brightline, ” Renne, Richard Branson's, Virgin “, hasn’t, Eric Flowers, , ” Brightline, Reininger, ” Reininger, Robert Barr, You’ve, Barr Organizations: MIAMI, Fortress Investment, West Palm Beach, D.C, Amtrak, Florida Atlantic University's Center for Urban, Environmental Solutions, Miami -, Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Virgin Trains USA, Virgin, Orlando Locations: United States, Miami, Orlando, West Palm, Southern California, Las Vegas, Boston, Washington, Florida, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami - Orlando, London, U.S, West, County, We’re, Vero, Brightline’s Miami, South, Florida’s, Europe
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - British billionaire Richard Branson severely damaged Virgin Group's reputation by residing in a tax haven while UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic sought a government bailout during the pandemic, according to internal Virgin emails cited in a $250 million London lawsuit on Monday. The emails were cited by lawyers for U.S. train operator Brightline, which is being sued by the Virgin Group after cancelling a deal to use the Virgin brand in 2020, just over 18 months after it was signed. Under the deal Brightline operated a rail line in Florida using the name Virgin Trains USA. Brightline's lawyers cited internal Virgin Group emails describing group founder Branson being based in the British Virgin Islands for tax purposes as "a reputation killer", while one email from an external public relations adviser said: "Richard needs to show he's not a ruthless, tax-evading billionaire." In an April 2020 email, Virgin Group CEO Josh Bayliss referred to Branson's tax residency in relation to the request for a bailout, saying: "Richard cannot escape the criticism.
Persons: Richard Branson, Brightline, Branson, Richard, Josh Bayliss, Daniel Toledano, Virgin Atlantic's, Brightline's, Nigel Tozzi, Sam Tobin, Susan Fenton Organizations: Virgin Atlantic, U.S, Virgin Group, Virgin, Virgin Trains, British Virgin Islands, Real Madrid, Thomson Locations: Florida, British Virgin, Britain, United States, Barcelona, Bay
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