Rothschild has been left to pick up the pieces for Sabena, the Belgian airline which is on the verge of bankruptcy, after Virgin Express pulled out of plans to link up with it on European routes

Sabena, which is 50.5% owned by the Belgian government, has been in talks with Virgin Express, part of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, for around a month in an effort to strike a deal which would have helped Sabena restructure its €2.2bn ($1.97bn) of debt. Virgin pulled out of talks this week claiming that Sabena's plan was unworkable, leaving Sabena facing imminent bankruptcy.