Branson buys an island to reward staff

Virgin boss Richard Branson has come up with the ultimate way to reward staff for working hard – he has bought them an island in Australia.

The larger-than-life entrepreneur, who expressed an interest last week in taking over Concorde, revealed today that he had bought Makepeace Island near the resort of Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as a thank-you for his worldwide staff.

The 25-acre heart-shaped island, which currently contains just a house and a swimming pool, is to be turned into an eco-tourism retreat for Virgin staff and their family and friends.

Mr Branson said today: “What makes Virgin so special is our people. This will be a wonderful retreat for them and it will also be a great way for our team to spend time together and to get to know each other outside of a work environment.

“It will be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to spending more time in Australia and sharing this delightful island with our wonderful team.”

As part of a total investment of five million Australian dollars (€2.8m), the island is to be developed to provide camping facilities and tree-houses for staff and their guests.

There will also be nature walks, tennis courts and facilities for sailing, water-skiing and other water sports.

It is hoped that the island will be ready for staff to use within a year.