ABOUT US OUR STORY TIMELINE WORKING AT VIRGIN LATEST VIRGIN GROUP Image from Virgin.com Virgin Group The Virgin Group is the home of Virgin. We support the Branson family and the growth of the Virgin brand by developing and nurturing valuable Virgin businesses. We aspire to change business for good. Overview The Virgin Group is a global, growth investor, spanning multiple sectors - Travel & Leisure, Health & Wellness, Music & Entertainment, Telecoms & Media, Financial Services and Space. Learn more Our timeline Our story begins in 1967 when Richard launched Student magazine, aged 15. Explore our timeline Senior team Our senior team has over 75 years collective investment and operational experience at Virgin. Meet the team Our story Richard and family on Virgin Atlantic's inaugural flight | Image from the Branson family. The Virgin brand was born in 1970 when Richard Branson and his friend Nik Powell launched a mail order record business and chose the name Virgin, because they were entirely new to business. Equipped with a lot of courage, audacity and youthful self-belief, the mail order business evolved into Virgin Records with a record shop on Oxford Street in London. The evolution continued when Richard and the team saw an opportunity to create a different recording experience for musical artists. They acquired a large, rundown manor house in Oxford and converted it into a recording studio which they called The Manor. They signed Mike Oldfield as their first artist and produced the number one selling album, Tubular Bells. Virgin Records went on to sign household names from The Sex Pistols to The Rolling Stones and became the biggest independent label in the world. After expanding across the music and media scene, Virgin made a big leap into aviation – convinced we could provide people with a better flying experience. Virgin Atlantic launched in 1984 and Virgin went on to expand into sectors including travel and leisure; telecommunications and media; music and entertainment; financial services and health and wellness. There are now more than 40 Virgin companies operating in 35 countries and employing over 60,000 people. Image from Virgin.com +1 image In 2004, we founded the non-profit foundation, Virgin Unite, to unite people and entrepreneurial ideas to create opportunities for a better world. In 2013 we founded Virgin StartUp, a not-for-profit that provides business advice, access to funding, mentoring and a growing community, helping thousands of founders to change business for good. In 2015 we launched Virgin Red, an app that rewards users for living a life more Virgin through access to exclusive offers and opportunities from Virgin and friends. Moments that made us Explore the moments that made Virgin in this visual timeline showcasing the history of our brand. Virgin Atlantic historic livery | Image from Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Balloon Flights at Bristol Balloon Fiesta in 1995 | Image from Virgin Balloon Flights Envision Virgin Racing driver Sam Bird in 2015 | Image from Envision Virgin Racing. Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic. Virgin Hotels Nashville. Image from John Shearer Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady | Image from Virgin Voyages +5 images Explore our timeline Contact Virgin Web Terms of Use Web Privacy Policy Web Cookie Policy Report a Scam Virgin Modern Slavery Statement Virgin Tax Strategy Statement Virgin Corporate Governance Virgin Group FAQs Newsletter “Finding the spotlight isn't about standing in it. There's so much to be gained from working with people who support each other to achieve great things.” Richard Branson © Virgin 2021. All rights reserved. Our website uses cookies We use cookies and similar technologies to personalise content, to provide you with relevant marketing, to enhance your user experience and to gain insight and track how you interact with us and our partners. Learn more in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Click Accept all to consent to all or Let me choose to manage your choices. Accept all Let me choose