 Virgin Trains is the second largest train operator in the UK.
The Company was formed to take advantage of the privatisation of British Rail in the mid-1990s, and was initially successful in winning two bids: InterCity West Coast and CrossCountry. Although the two franchises are separate companies legally and operationally, they were marketed together as part of the Virgin Group. The Virgin Group's share in Virgin Trains is 51%, with the remaining 49% currently held by Stagecoach Group.
Transaction
In a joint venture together with the leading-branded venture capital organisation, Virgin, we acquired the CrossCountry and InterCity West Coast services in 1997 and sold our share of the JV to Stagecoach Group in 1998.
Investment Overview
We were able to apply the strong Virgin brand and private sector disciplines to stimulate revenue growth and improve financial performance. Revenue decline reversed to 4% growth in the first year. We introduced new timetables, a call centre, a ticket delivery system and implemented a rigorous training programme for the staff and upgraded the rolling stock.
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