Virgin Group

Virgin Group Ltd.
Private
Industry Conglomerate
Founded February 1970 (1970-02)
Founders Richard Branson
Nik Powell
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Area served
Global
Key people
Sir Richard Branson
(Founder)
Peter Norris
(Chairman)[1]
Josh Bayliss (CEO)[1]
Products Banking
Books
Commercial aviation
Commercial spaceflight
Consumer electronics
Films
Health care
Internet
Jewelry
Mobile Phones
Music
Radio
Retail
Travel
Revenue Increase £19.5 billion (2016)[1]
Number of employees
Approximately 71,000
Website www.virgin.com

Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational branded venture capital conglomerate founded by entrepreneurs Richard Branson and Nik Powell.[2] Its core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle, and it also manages ventures in financial services, transport, healthcare, food and drink, media and telecommunications; together, Virgin's businesses consist of more than 400 companies worldwide.

Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding company; however Virgin's business and trading activities date to the 1970s. The net worth of Virgin Group was estimated at £5-5.5 billion as of November 2014.[3]

Name (Virgin)

The brand name "Virgin" arose when Richard Branson and Nik Powell and Dirk Prijsvraag formed a record shop. They considered themselves virgins in business.[4] Branson has described the "V" in the logo as an expressive tick, representing the Virgin seal of approval.[4]

Corporate affairs

Virgin Group has its headquarters at The Battleship Building in the Paddington district of the City of Westminster.[5] Previously it was in The School House in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.[6]

The Virgin Group of companies have a complex structure that contains elements of a generic conglomerate, a Keiretsu and sometimes simply licences its brand. Examples of licensing are Virgin Records (now owned by Universal Music Group) and Virgin Media (now owned by Liberty Global).

In mid-May 2013, the Virgin Group expressed its intention to seek out opportunities in Australia's healthcare industry to consolidate on the Group's Australian fitness centres. The Group also owns over 100 National Health Service (NHS) services in the United Kingdom and the healthcare division of medical services group Assura after entering the British healthcare industry in 2011.[7]

Subsidiaries and investments

Company Ownership Sector
V Festival 100% Entertainment
Virgin Active 20% Health
Virgin America 25% Travel
Virgin Atlantic 51% Travel
Virgin Australia Holdings 10%
Virgin Books 10% Publishing
Virgin Care 100% Health
Virgin Connect 100% Media
Virgin Experience Days 100% Entertainment
Virgin Galactic 100% Aerospace
Virgin Green Fund 100% Energy
Virgin Health Bank 100% Health
Virgin HealthMiles 100% Business Services
Virgin Holidays 100% Travel
Virgin Hotels 100% Hospitality
Virgin Limited Edition 100%
Limobike 100% Travel
Virgin Megastores 100% Retail
Virgin Mobile 100% Communications
Virgin Money 34%[8] Banking
Virgin Oceanic Japan
Virgin Racing 100% Entertainment
Virgin Radio 100% Entertainment
Virgin Rail Group 51% Travel
Virgin Sports 1% Sports
Virgin Trains East Coast 10% Travel
Virgin Unite 100% Charity
Virgin Vacations 100% Travel
Virgin Voucher 100% Retail
Virgin Voyages 100% Travel

Formerly owned ventures

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About us". Virgin.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  2. "Virgin Group Ltd.: Private Company Information". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  3. Wisniewska, Aleksandra (2014-11-05). "Timeline: The Virgin Empire". Financial Times.
  4. 1 2 Richard Branson. Losing My Virginity. ISBN 1-8522-7684-3.
  5. "Our company information." Virgin Group. Retrieved on 14 October 2013. "The Battleship Building, 179 Harrow Road, London W2 6NB"
  6. "Our company information." Virgin Group. Retrieved on 14 January 2009. "The School House 50 Brook Green London, W6 7RR England"
  7. Damon Kitney (20 May 2013). "Virgin Group eyes slice of Australia's $65bn healthcare market". The Australian. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  8. Armstrong, Ashley (13 November 2014). "Virgin Money float triggers £50m payment to George Osborne's coffers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
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