Can someone confirm this...
 

I've allways been under the impression that Virgin Media was owned by Sir Richard Branson or he has Shares in the company. I've never been certain and can't back up what im saying to say if its true or false.

However I was at work Yesterday and one of the Security Guards said he used to work for Virgin Media as an Engineer and said to me that its owned by NTL:Telewest still but uses the Virgin brand so Sir Richard Branson gets paid a loyalty fee.

Which of course would be correct either way but could someone confirm whats true and not in regards to who owns the company.

Thanks

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

RB is a lmajor shareholder but doesn't own VM. VM do pay an fee for the use of the Virgin name. It's a common business practice.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Your Security Guard is quite right, NTL and Telewest are there but with a new name, Virgin Media lease the use of the name from Virgin and Richard Branson owns only 10% of the business but it is the biggest single owned portion.

Remember when a Snickers bar used to be called a Marathon bar its just a re branding exercise.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Cheers and I guess because 10% of the business is owned by Richard Branson its also why staff get discounts on all Virgin Products I guess :LOL:

Thanks

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

We do:tu:

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

They're supposed to be bringing back Marathon

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

People will be expecting NTL and Telewest back now:LOL:

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Dunno about the NTL but I'd love Telewest back.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Not quite right anymore. Riversource own a larger percentage than Branson.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

I said single owned percentage not company owned which does make him personally the biggest single stakeholder in the company.

---------- Post added at 11:08 ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 ----------

You will soon be offered the option of a virginmedia.com addy as will all blueyonder.co.uk customers, and you will still receive emails from your original addy if you take one.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

;) I'm wondering when the 'soon' might be!!!

Its been 'very shortly' from Virgin Media which I took to mean a couple of days!! :dunce:

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

They have not even told us when:scratch:

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

:tu: feeling that Mags

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Yeah but they are ntl with a differant name, anyway i thought the word Virgin meant never before, but ntl seemed to have changed the meaning to never again :confused:;)

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

We don't get many discounts :( We're on recruitment agency contracts, not Virgin ones...sadly :(

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

They may both be under the Virgin Media Banner but the Telewest side is still quite different to the NTL side, similar systems is the only comparison and separate networks as well.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Exactly, whereas Telewest were brilliant and I'm not saying that cos I work for them. I've been a customer since 31st Dec 2000 and none of the hassles people have had with NTL.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

yeah but saying that i've been with ntl since 1997 and it was fine until it went under the virgin banner, apart from either upgrading or downgrading channels with ntl i never had to contact them, that's not the case with virgin i have probably been on the phone at least once a month since then with either a tv fault, poor broadband or just billing problems,and i've still yet to ask for a discount for anything as i beleaved like others on here that virgin needed full paying customers to be able to afford to upgrade the network.
virgin media has certainly not taken a leaf from richard bransons buisiness book on how to look after it's customers and still make money.:)
personally i think telewest and ntl where as bad as each other and now they have merged it like a marrage made in nthell.:angel:

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Indeed, most if not all of the current processes, proceedures, billing, and middle managment are ex-telewest, not ntl. So when people moan about wanting telewest back, well, we are all telewest now as far as I can see.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Richard Branson remains the majority shareholder...

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

As per my post below

---------- Post added at 11:17 ---------- Previous post was at 11:16 ----------

As above

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

here here and what a shower of poo those systems are!!!

IMHO, the last time the company was run correctly was under Cable and Wireless! (awaits the the flak!!)

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

:clap::clap:
being a womble you must go around picking up litter and rubbish? how many VM shares have you picked up recently :naughty:

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

lol :-)

Trying to fit the whole company in the bin is proving a tad difficult

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

i never had any problems with ntl so yeah come back:)

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Well its more to do with using the Virgin name for the company rather just Branson owning 10%

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Don't Virgin group own the shares? Hence that's a company too! He just happens to be the founder and chairman of Virgin group.

Here's a link for you to read http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/...ortune/18.html

Branson's Virgin group is the largest shareholder. That article is old now and riversource and the largest shareholders.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

AMEN! Although i'm not sure why we get 25% off at the RAC???

Big up Dickie B! =]

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

wallis00

Some basic Economics 101, when a company like Virgin or NTL needs to raise capital there are several ways they can go about this, one borrow from banks, issues bonds or float/ go public issuing shares. Or sell off part of the company as NTL did to Virgin, especially if the brand image is poor.

All have their risks, as every year stockholders demand their returns (profits) and unless you delivery you can be voted out by shareholders. As with the case in Northern Rock borrowing from banks is equally risky. Because the brand of Virgin is strong there may be a 51% (49%) ownership by NTL or Virgin (I am guessing here). Either way its doesn’t matter too much as long as the brand (Virgin) remains strong. After all would you rather fly NTL Airlines or Virgin Atlantic??

(P.S) Virgin Airlines is part owned by Singapore Airlines who have 49% stake in the company.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

We were told his own personal share in Virgin is 10% during induction training, where we are treated a Company history overview which also tells us how many companies worldwide come under the Virgin banner all of which we can get a discount with.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

NTL didn't sell anything...NTL:Telewest bought the image rights from Dickie B and gave him a stake in the company in return.

A lot of people seem to think that 'Virgin took over'


Not the case!

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Leased the image rights;)

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

lol FIIINE leased!

5 years initially i believe?

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Something daft like that.

Its just like a Snickers bar which used to a Marathon bar and some people prefer Marathon bars:p::rofl:

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Aha yea but who's gona prefer NTL to VM?

Telewest maybe...
:D

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

You know who I prefer just by looking to the left under my avatar :p:

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

lol I'm with you! Although to be honest i enjoyed it just as much when it was Telewest.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

I remember it being Cable northwest up here, best stop as we are of topic:D

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

The security Guard is correct.
Ntl had an image problem so decided to pay out of their customer subcriptions a loyalty fee for the Virgin name, but at the end of the day it is still NTL imo.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Its still NTL and Telewest;)

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

And as I've said before, the residential managment board have more ex-telewest people on it than ex-ntl (as Neil Berkett is the only ex-ntl person there) and most of the technology is ex-tw (the billing system, the code behind the EPG etc)

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

How long ago was your training? Shares drop and rise, people buy and sell every day. RB may have been the biggest shareholder then but he isn't now? For all i know though he could be again today! The stock market is a wonderful thing. Last heard news was Riversource has bought lot's more shares and had more than RB.

---------- Post added at 10:01 ---------- Previous post was at 09:59 ----------

Yep, to see if they can turn it round. RB has a 30 year get out clause to the contract incase NTL can't shake off their negative image.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

He has a 10% Personal share not company share so the will be companies with bigger slices than him.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Still he isn't the largest shareholder as this security guard suggested. He doesn't even have a seat on the board so no influence on the company as a whole apart from he can threaten to pull the virgin name if it damages the brand.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Individual share is what I said, as a person not a company.

Of course he is not on the board because they are only leasing his brand name.

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

Ntl needed a new disguise for there shoddy services and shitty customer support they found it and soiled it its now called virgin media

Re: Can someone confirm this...
 

But he doesn't have a individual share. He owned Virgin mobile which was part of Virgin group. He swapped Virgin groups virgin mobile for shares but the shares are owned by Virgin group not individual like you keep saying. Richard Branson did a straight swap.