Virgin Trains is the second largest train operator in the UK (CrossCountry carries over 20 million passengers per year).
 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 Cross Country. Although the two franchises are separate companies legally and operationally, they marketed together as part of the Virgin Group. The Virgin Group's share in the Company 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 Cross Country and Intercity West Coast services in 1997 and sold our share of the JV in 1998 to Stagecoach Group.
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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