‘Bikini airline’ tycoon faces multi-million pound fine after losing High Court case

A “bikini airline” tycoon once courted by an Oxford college for donations is in line for a multi-million pound bill after losing a High Court case.

The behavior of Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao’s company, VietJet, has been described as “atrocious” by a High Court judge after it failed to return four aircraft for which it had not paid the rent.

Last month, the High Court in London ruled against VietJet – known as the “bikini airline” after its advertisements featuring scantily clad flight attendants – with the judge finding that the company had breached its contract.

The firm leased four planes but fell into arrears after failing to make a series of lease payments in 2021.

VietJet “conducted and orchestrated a campaign” to try to avoid handing over leased aircraft back to their owners, according to the High Court ruling, which noted that the company’s “misconduct” was “serious”.

Documents filed at the High Court in December 2022 showed that VietJet was being sued for £155 million plus interest accrued at a rate of at least £31,000 a day.

“Cash Flow Problems”

Ms Thao’s company is also subject to several court orders in the long-running case, which contain criminal notices that say failure to comply could result in the company being prosecuted, which could lead to jail time, seizure of assets or fines . .

VietJet admitted it had fallen behind on rent payments, but blamed “cash flow problems” due to the pandemic and Vietnam’s national lockdown, which meant it had to suspend operations, according to its defence.

However, it denied breaching the lease and denied owing “any of the compensation sought”.

Ms Thao also made headlines when, in 2021, Linacre College announced that, in return for a £155m “landmark gift” from Sovico Group, it would change its name to Thao College.

The group is the parent company of VietJet, which Ms Thao launched in 2007 as Vietnam’s first privately run low-cost airline.

A decade later, she took the company public and in doing so became the only female billionaire in Southeast Asia.

Ms Thao is now the CEO of VietJet and chairman of Sovico Holdings, which invests in a number of real estate and energy projects.

Another High Court hearing is due early next year to determine how much VietJet will be ordered to pay FW Aviation (Holdings) 1 Limited, with the sums claimed running into several million pounds.

In November 2021, Linacre College said Ms Thao had pledged through her company to donate £155 million to the college.

The initial memorandum of understanding, written in front of Vietnam’s prime minister, coincided with a push by the Vietnamese government to attract more foreign direct investment.

At Oxford, the deal was heralded as the start of a new era of “financial security” for one of the university’s poorer colleges.

But the announcement sparked a backlash against the proposed rebranding of the college, which is named after 15th-century Renaissance scholar Thomas Linacre.

Questions have been raised about why Ms Thao wanted to take millions out of Vietnam, which is a poorer country than the UK.

Pham Quy Tho, former dean of public policy at the Academy of Policy and Development, told Nikkei Asia: “Vietnam is poor. We need money.”

He said “no one could understand where” the money was going.

In October 2022, The Telegraph revealed that the first installment of £50 million had not materialised, leading to doubts that the deal would go ahead.

Last September, the principal of Linacre College confirmed plans to rename the College had been scrapped, but said there would be a “long-term partnership” with Ms Thao, which would include funding scholarships and bursaries for Vietnamese students from Oxford.

Another aspect of the partnership will involve researchers and DPhil students coming from Oxford University’s Clinical Research Unit based in Ho Chi Minh City, the director said. There have been no updates since then.

Linacre College and Oxford University declined to comment. Ms. Thao and Sovico Group did not respond to requests for comment.