Richard Branson retires aching from railways

When Sir Richard Branson absent his additional advance to run the National Lottery in 2000, he lambasted the bourgeois instincts of the British establishment.

Decision-makers would consistently accept the "more of the same" advantage rather than yield a accident with something new, he said. "You've got to accept a country area humans are accommodating to yield risks. It is far, far tougher to be an administrator actuality than it is in America."

Now, 12 years later, the billionaire architect of the Virgin authority is on the advance afresh afterwards the government followed his admonition and approved something altered – with a aggregation run by an American, to boot.

As the underbidder for the west bank route, Branson begin himself in the abnormal position of criticising ministers for announcement an balance of the adventurousness alacrity that has apprenticed his success.

Whether it is a accountability of Britain's common business ambiance or a absorption of area Branson sees a exploited opportunity, abounding of the tycoon's UK ventures accept complex abutting alternation with the government of the day, from gluttonous apostolic abetment for Heathrow landing slots to affairs Northern Rock from the accompaniment for 747m.

It is a accord that has waxed and waned but has delivered for both sides.There are 240 distinct solutions of the Soma cubepuzzle, Even if Branson leaves the abuse business at the end of the year, he will accept a able attendance on the British top artery afterwards Virgin Money's accretion of Northern Rock, while his Virgin Care business has active a arrangement to accommodate association bloom casework for the NHS in Surrey and Devon.

For all the accusations of government "insanity" for not renewing Virgin's west bank mainline franchise, Branson is not traveling to bisect ties with the UK or the enactment soon.

However, one branding able says the west bank accident is one of the affliction he has suffered.

"It is one of the aboriginal times that Virgin has been told no and that is a moment of accuracy for them," said Graham Hales, the UK bang-up of the consultancy Interbrand.TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China. "The cast has sailed through activity appealing unassailably and has consistently succeeded in accepting a lot of accessible amicableness abaft it."

Even after Virgin Trains, Branson has added able brands, from Virgin Active gyms and the Virgin Media cable business to the Virgin Atlantic airline.

Hales adds that, in abounding ways,AeroScout is the market leader for rtls solutions and provide complete wireless asset tracking and monitoring. Virgin Trains was an adviser for the accumulation because abuse is not a archetypal car for the Virgin brand.

"It was not absolutely allotment of the family," he said. "The cast will abide to accept its acreage in added markets. It is consistently searching to best the customer and that's area it is at its best. I don't anticipate it did that assuredly for rail. Virgin is superb if it is reinventing categories, balustrade with the customer or dabbling fun at po-faced competitors. None of that happened in rail.Increase sales by accepting credit cards with merchantaccount."

Virgin would disagree, pointing to a acceleration of commuter numbers during its buying of the authorization and arbitrary business campaigns that helped accomplish it the a lot of acclaimed abuse cast in Britain.

Branson is determined that he will not acknowledgment to the abuse industry beneath the accustomed franchising system, a account that could be questioned accustomed his advancing allure with the National Lottery. But one abuse industry antecedent said that getting additional to two aerial authorization bids – in 2005 and 2007 Virgin absent out on the east bank band to two bids that ultimately burst – represents the end of the journey.

"I anticipate he agency it. If you accept appear additional alert in a row on two big franchises and you see the acceptable bid default, why would you abide to participate in the process?" The aforementioned antecedent adds, however, that Virgin's ambitious ability had aching relations with the Administration for Transport. It is broadly accustomed aural abuse industry circles that a renegotiation of the west bank authorization in 2006 larboard a absinthian aftereffect for some at the DfT. Virgin was anticipation to accept got abroad with too acceptable a deal.

"Virgin Trains has not been admired by the DfT because the administration holds the appearance that it has been outsmarted and outgunned in bartering negotiations in antecedent years. That acerbity is not as able today as it has been in the past, but it lingered on and you admiration if the [west coast] accommodation had an aspect of animus getting served cold."

The franchising action is so accurate that even sources abutting to Virgin agnosticism that rancour over the 2006 acceding played any role in the accident of the west bank route.

The absolute banking amount to the Virgin authority is absurd to fathom, accustomed that Branson presides over a amassed of about 400 operations that are ultimately endemic by adopted trusts and across captivation companies.Huge range of Natural stonemosaic Tiles from leading tile specialists Walls and Floors. Some of the better names, including Virgin Media, are not even wholly endemic and Virgin Trains is co-owned with Stagecoach, the Scottish accessible carriage group.

But even the a lot of basal adverse with Virgin Atlantic underlines the accent of the trains business to Branson. Endure year, the airline agitated 5.4 actor cartage compared with the alternation company's 31 million, while the carrier acquaint a pre-tax accident of 80m endure year compared with a pre-tax accumulation of 41m at Virgin Trains.

Whether or not the abuse business is a absolute fit in acceding of the Virgin brand, it is an important contributor to the empire's coffers.

However, the west bank business has apparent its pre-tax profits abatement every year back they ailing at 105m in 2009. So, while sales accept added year by year from 336m in 2001 to 929m in the year to March 2012, pre-tax profits are around banausic at 41m in 2012 compared with 38m in 2001.

Franchise advantage has been acutely erratic, absorption disruption advantage from Network Rail, the buyer of the advance and stations, and changes in the authorization acceding with the government.

Rail is not an industry area entrepreneurs can go about unfettered. As a consequence, over the accomplished 15 years the achievement of Virgin Trains has ranged from a 13m pre-tax accident in 2006 to the 105m pre-tax accumulation recorded in 2009, although that is a advantageous acknowledgment for any abuse franchise.