#AmericasCup - Sir Ben Ainslie's next bid for the America's Cup may have secured the backing of Sir Richard Brandon's Virgin empire, as the Daily Telegraph reports.

It's understood that the billionaire businessman and adventurer – who recently hosted the Olympic sailing legend and his new wife, TV presenter Georgie Thompson, at his Necker Island retreat in the Caribbean – has been asked to invest in Sir Ben's namesake team BAR, set up to represent Britain at the next America's Cup race in Bermuda in 2017.

It's not surprising that Sir Richard might take an interest, being as famous for his past transatlantic and ballooning escapes as he is for his business ventures.

And he would be in good company, with Carphone Warehouse founder Sir Charles Dunstone among those who have already pledged financial support to the British sailing bid on the heels of Sir Ben's successful turnaround of Oracle Team USA in last summer's dramatic head-to-head in San Francisco.

The Telegraph has more on the story HERE.