Virgin Group

Refreshed Corporate logo of the Virgin Group introduced 2006
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Corporate logo of the Virgin Group
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The Virgin Group is a group of separately run companies that each use Virgin brand of British celebrity business tycoon Sir Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle, although many others have been entered into.

Although Branson retains complete ownership and control of the Virgin Brand, the commercial set up of companies using it is varied and complex. The group is sometimes perceived as a conglomerate, but this is not in fact the case. Each of the companies operating under the Virgin brand are separate entities, with some being wholly owned by Branson, while he holds minority or majority stakes in others. Occasionally, he simply licenses the brand to a company that has purchased a division from him, such as Virgin Radio (now part of SMG plc) and Virgin Music (now part of EMI). With a few exceptions, all of the companies began as wholly owned Virgin subsidiaries.

To understand the Virgin structure, it is best to think of Sir Richard as a venture capitalist who unites all of his differing ventures under a single brand name.

Virgin Brands (under various ownership)

See List of Richard Branson's business ventures

• TheTrainLine - UK train booking service
• Virgin Active - a health club chain in South Africa, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom
• Virgin America - a U.S. domestic low-cost airline scheduled for launch in early 2007
• Virgin Atlantic Airways - an international carrier based at London's Heathrow Airport
• Virgin Balloon Flights - a hot-air balloon operator
• Virgin Blue - a low-cost airline in Australia and the South Pacific based in Australia
  • Blue Holidays - holiday program of Virgin Blue
  • Pacific Blue - a low-cost subsidiary of Virgin Blue based in New Zealand
  • Polynesian Blue - a Samoan international low-cost airline
• Virgin Books - publisher, retailer and distributor of books
• Virgin Brides - bridal wear shop in Manchester
• Virgin Cars - a UK low-cost car dealership and superstore
• Virgin Cinemas - Sold to UGC
• Virgin Comics - Indian comic book producer
• Virgin Cosmetics - retailer of Virgin Vie cosmetics and jewellery through internet, direct selling and Virgin Spa stores.
• Virgin Digital - online digital music retailer
• Virgin Drinks - drink manufacturer
  • Virgin Cola - carbonated cola soft drink
  • Virgin Vodka - alcoholic beverage
• Virgin Electronics - formerly Virgin Pulse, consumer electronics
• Virgin Experience Days - corporate and consumer experience events
• Virgin Express - a low-cost European airline
• Virgin Fuel - venture capital firm for investing in petroleum alternatives
• Virgin Galactic - a venture to market and operate commercial space flights, using spacecraft designed by Scaled Composites
• Virgin Games - online games and gambling
• Virgin Holidays - UK travel agency and tour operator for destinations served by Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Interactive - games distributor now owned by Titus Interactive
• Virgin Jewellery - jewellery arm of Virgin Cosmetics
• Virgin Limited Edition - exclusive hotels
  • Kasbah Tamadot - exclusive Moroccan holiday destination
  • Lady B - luxurious Catamaran available for Caribbean charters
  • The Lodge - ski lodge
  • Natirar - private spa located in Somerset County, New Jersey
  • Necker Island - exclusive island in British Virgin Islands for private hire
  • The Roof Gardens and Babylon - 1.5 acres open air gardens, venue, nightclub and restaurant in Kensington, London
  • Ulusaba - exclusive game reserve in South Africa
• Virgin Limobike - passenger bike service in London
• Virgin Limousines - chauffeured limousine service in San Francisco and Northern California
• Virgin Media - Rebranded NTL Telewest, providing home telephony, cable television, broadband and mobile
  • Virgin Mobile - mobile phone network
  • Virgin.net - internet service provider, now owned by NTL
• Virgin Megastores - CD, DVD and games retailer chain with high-street and online stores
• Virgin Money - providers of financial services
  • Virgin Credit Card
• Virgin Nigeria - international, regional and domestic Nigerian airline
• Virgin Play - a video game promoter, distributor and marketer in Spain
• Virgin Radio - (owned by SMG plc) British commercial radio station broadcast on AM, FM (London only), DAB, internet, Digital TV. Other Virgin radio brands include:
  • Virgin Radio Classic Rock - (SMG plc) classic rock station broadcast on DAB, internet and Satellite TV
  • Virgin Radio Groove - (SMG plc) black music station broadcast on DAB, internet and Satellite TV
  • Virgin Radio Xtreme - (SMG plc) rock station aimed at teenage males broadcast on DAB, internet and Satellite TV
• ouï fm - rock radio station in France and Asia
• Radio Free Virgin - internet radio broadcaster with over 60 channels
  • Virgin Radio Asia - collection of station operating in India and Thailand including Virgin Soft, Hitz, Easy FM and Oui
• Virgin Records - record label now owned by EMI
• Virgin Spa - shop chain retailing Virgin Cosmetics products
• Virgin Sun - a UK based charter airline sold to Air 2000
• Virgin Trains - a railway operator in the United Kingdom
• Virgin Unite - charitable foundation
• Virgin Vacations - U.S. travel agency
• |Virgin Vie - brand of cosmetics and jewellery sold through Virgin Cosmetics
• Virgin Vines - A Californian-based company, created in 2005 and producer of Red and White wines
• Virgin Voucher - staff incentive scheme
• Virgin Ware - clothes brand and retailer
• Virgin Wines - internet wine retailer
• V2 Records - an independent music label
• V Festival - music festival held in the UK over two days in two separate locations
  • V Festival (North America) a North American variant of the V Festival, begun in 2006

See also

• Heaven - Nightclub formerly owned by Branson
• Richard Branson Business Ventures

External links

• Virgin Group Official website of Virgin group
• VirginBrand.com - Unofficial blog of the Virgin Group

Business data

• Virgin Group Ltd. at Google Finance
• Virgin Group Ltd. at Yahoo Finance
• Virgin Group Ltd. at Hoover's

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