Potential Virgin bidders ‘nervous’ about lack of government support

Potential bidders for Virgin Australia have expressed anxiety over the lack of financial support for the stricken airline from the Morrison government. Sources close to the sales process said four shortlisted purchasers, who are due to lodge indicative bids for the airline on Friday, were becoming increasingly worried about a period estimated at between four to six weeks during which the airline will have no cash. The airline’s administrator, Vaughan Strawbridge, has recently indicated Virgin Australia may need a bailout to bridge the gap between any sale late next month and a creditors’ meeting likely to be held in August. Unions have also raised concerns about the role of the government’s liasion with Virgin, former Macquarie Group chief executive Nicholas Moore, who Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine told Guardian Australia has become an impediment to the sales process because he has no power to make decisions. Kaine said Moore was like a sheriff without a badge. “You’ve got to give him the badge, the authority, and the chequebook, the money, and let him get on with the job,” he told Guardian Australia. The government has been approached for comment. Virgin Australia’s crumbling financial position – it had just $100m in the bank a fortnight ago and continues to burn cash – and the lack of clarity from government has fuelled fears among potential buyers that the sale process might fail and Virgin Australia collapse into liquidation. A complete collapse of Virgin Australia would throw 10,000 people into unemployment during a brutal economic downturn and risk handing rival Qantas a near-monopoly over Australian air travel.<br/>