Virgin to move brand division to Switzerland

Sir Richard branson is unapologetic about moving a key part of his Virgin empire out of Britain to Geneva for tax reasons. The announcement is a symbolic blow for the Chancellor, George Osborne, who had hoped to lure more companies back to Britain through cuts in corporation tax.

Virgin Enterprise, which owns the trademarks and rights to use the Virgin name, is advertising for staff for its move to Switzerland. A Virgin spokesman said: "This move will accelerate our expansion and the development of the Virgin brand internationally. Companies trading internationally need every leg up that they can get these days."

The Virgin Group, whose interests include trains, planes and broadband delivery to financial services, will remain based in Britain. The spokesman added: "The Enterprise business is growing but it has just a £30m turnover. The Virgin business as a whole has £13bn of global revenues."

Sir Richard's intention to bid for the nationalised bank Northern Rock and 600 branches of Lloyds, through Virgin Money, was a sign of the company's continued commitment to the UK, the spokesman said. Sir Richard, 61, will not become a tax exile, the company added. However his presidential role means he spends more time abroad to advance Virgin's interests in territories including Latin America and Asia.