|
|
Article: Why the City is chary of Branson's mobile call The flamboyant entrepreneur wants to float Virgin Mobile. Andrew Murray-Watson assesses the prospects
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- July 11, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
Seventeen years after turning his back on the City, Richard
Branson is back in town. This time, his hopes of success rest on his
latest venture, Virgin Mobile, which is set to be the biggest
flotation on the London market this year.
But this time round the City is proving less easily swayed than in
1987. Branson's ability to enthrall the big investment banks vanished
the moment he took his Virgin Group back into private hands after a
disastrous few months on the public market.
"There is no such thing as a friendly shareholder," he said at the
time, as he turned his back on a stock market that he believed was
obsessed with short-term gains.
Virgin Mobile has all the characteristics of a ...