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Timeline of Richard Branson's business ventures

This is a list of Richard Branson's business ventures from the 1960s to today.

1960s

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  • 1966 – After failed attempts to grow and sell both Christmas trees and budgerigars, Branson launches his first successful business, a magazine named Student, the first issue of which appearing in January 1968.[1] Branson's net worth was estimated at £50,000 by 1969.

1970s

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1980s

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  • 1980 – Virgin Records goes international[citation needed]
  • 1981 – Virgin buys the Kensington Roof Gardens[2]
  • 1983 – Virgin Vision, later to become Virgin Communications, is formed to distribute films and videos in the television and broadcasting sector.[3]
  • 1983 – Virgin Games is launched.
  • 1984 – Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Cargo are launched.[1]
  • 1984 – Virgin Vision (launched the previous year) launches "Music Box", a 24-hour satellite music station.
  • 1985 – Virgin Group now includes record labels, retail outlets, exported music publishing, broadcasting, satellite television, and film and video distribution.
  • 1985 – Branson starts Virgin Holidays
  • 1987 – Branson takes Virgin Records to the United States
  • 1987 – The Virgin Group, along with Granada, Anglia and Pearson, founds British Satellite Broadcasting and receives a UK licence to broadcast five new TV channels by satellite in the UK.
  • 1987 – Virgin sets up 525, a post production facility in Los Angeles, to work on high-end commercials and pop videos.
  • 1987 – Virgin sets up "Music Box" as an independent producer of music programmes.
  • 1987 – Virgin buys a 45% stake in Mastertronic Group. Later Virgin Mastertronic becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Group, creating, marketing and distributing computer games software and Sega consoles in several European countries.
  • 1987 – Virgin buys Rushes Postproduction in London.
  • 1987 – Virgin launches Virgin Airship & Balloon Company.
  • 1987 – Richard Branson launched Mates condoms in the UK to promote condoms to young adults
  • 1988 – Virgin re-opens the recently acquired and re-modeled Olympic Studios in Barnes, London.
  • 1988 – Virgin launches Virgin Classics, another Virgin international record label specializing in high-quality classical music.
  • 1988 – Virgin sells some of its smaller UK retail stores and puts more money into Virgin Megastores, opening new stores both in the UK and abroad.
  • 1988 – Virgin sets up Virgin Broadcasting.[citation needed]
  • 1988 – Virgin sells its shareholding in British Satellite Broadcasting.[citation needed]

1990s

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2000s

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2010s

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Richard Branson". Entrepreneur. 10 October 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  2. ^ Kensington Roof Gardens to close after more than 35 years The Guardian 3 January 2018
  3. ^ Dearlove, Des (13 Mar 2007). Business the Richard Branson Way: 10 Secrets of the World's Greatest Brand Builder (3 ed.). John Wiley & Sons. pp. 15. ISBN 9781841127668.
  4. ^ "Richard Branson Biography". Bio. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Polygram's visionary deal". February 1993.
  6. ^ Hosking, Patrick (29 April 1993). "Branson takes to the airwaves: Hopes are high as Virgin Radio begins broadcasting". The Independent. London. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  7. ^ "14 Virgin companies that even Richard Branson could not stop going bust". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  8. ^ Branson's Virgin Group wins CrossCountry Trains for 15 years Rail issue 294 18 December 1996 page 6
  9. ^ Virgin to tackle IC West Coast Rail Privatisation News issue 48 20 February 1997 page 1
  10. ^ "Chris Evans takes over at Virgin Radio". BBC News. London. 9 December 1997. Retrieved 24 Sep 2014.
  11. ^ Stagecoach to Acquire 49% Stake in Virgin Rail Today's Railways UK issue 32 August 1998 page 8
  12. ^ Hughes snaps up Broncos Evening Standard 17 September 2001
  13. ^ Branson sells 49% of Virgin Atlantic BBC News 20 December 1999
  14. ^ Virgin Blue To Fly The Aussie Skies Virgin Blue 5 February 2000
  15. ^ Branson sells Virgin music stores BBC News 17 September 2007
  16. ^ Shock as Virgin loses Cross Country to Arriva The Railway Magazine issue 1277 September 2007 page 11
  17. ^ "UKFI confirms completion of Northern Rock sale to Virgin Money" (PDF). UKFI. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  18. ^ Amos, Jonathan (2012-07-11). "Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic to launch small satellites". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  19. ^ Stagecoach/Virgin bid wins East Coast franchise The Railway Magazine issue 1366 January 2015 page 6
  20. ^ "Hyperloop One Is Now 'Virgin Hyperloop One' Thanks to Richard Branson's Investment". Fortune. 2017-10-12.
  21. ^ "New Chairman, New Funding, & New Speed Records". Hyperloop One. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  22. ^ Government terminates Virgin Trains East Coast franchise Railway Gazette International 17 May 2018
  23. ^ FirstGroup replaces Virgin to run West Coast route BBC News 14 August 2019
  24. ^ Hyperloop One Closes
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