Virgin has held informal talks with Dubai International Capital (DIC) about securing investment backing from the $12 billion (£6 billion) sovereign wealth fund.

Possible financial support could come from a sale of a stake in Virgin Active, which runs health clubs, or a mobile phone joint venture in the Middle East.

A group of Virgin executives is understood to have visited Dubai recently to meet DIC representatives to discuss potential deals.

DIC has been involved in a high-profile attempt to take over or buy into Liverpool Football Club, but the sometimes controversial talks with the club's American owners have overshadowed some of its other British acquisitions, including Travelodge, the hotel group, for which it paid £675 million two years ago, and Tussauds, the entertainment group. The fund also has large equity stakes in Daimler, Sony, EADS and HSBC and became one of Virgin's backers in the failed bid for Northern Rock.

Sovereign wealth funds have become increasingly important to many Western businesses as turbulence in global stock markets and credit markets has constrained traditional sources of capital. Virgin, meanwhile, plans to expand aggressively its largest businesses, such as its airline, mobile phones and gyms. It wants partners to help to fund that growth, particularly in new markets such as India, East Asia and the Middle East.

Virgin Active, which bought Holmes Place two years ago, has opened two gyms in Dubai and is planning several more in the emirate. Active also has plans to expand in countries such as Italy, Portugal and South Africa.

The Virgin Group has hired Goldman Sachs to consider revenue- raising options to finance this expansion, including an initial public offering (IPO) on the London stock market. However, Virgin could sell a stake in the Active division to DIC or to another sovereign wealth fund if it determines that the financial markets, still coping with the waves of the credit crunch that began in the United States, are too turbulent for an IPO.

Sir Richard Branson owns 75 per cent of Virgin Active, with the remaining shares held by management and the private equity firms Bridgepoint Capital and Permira. Virgin Group is thought to value Active at more than £1 billion.

Middle Eastern wealth funds could also be interested in Virgin's plans to establish its pay-as-you-go mobile phone model in the region. Virgin is understood to be bidding already for spectrum licences in the Middle East.

Virgin declined to comment on the discussions yesterday, but they fit the strategy that it has laid out for the future.

Sir Richard has handed day-to-day control of the Virgin empire, which has total revenues of about £10 billion a year, to an investment team. Their strategy is to operate as “branded venture capitalists”. This involves investing in a sector such as health clubs, rebranding the business with the famous Virgin name and then seeking other investors to help to develop the asset.

Bringing in new investors includes seeking IPOs where appropriate, although Sir Richard does not have a great track record on the stock market. He listed the Virgin Group in 1986 but bought it back two years later after becoming frustrated by the short-term approach of institutional investors.

Last year, Virgin Mobile USA was listed in New York, but its shares have fallen 87 per cent, wiping more than $250 million from the paper value of Sir Richard's investment.

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