Virgin Blue Holdings Limited
Encyclopedia
Virgin Blue Holdings Limited is the holding company
that owns and operates Virgin Australia (incorporating V Australia
and Pacific Blue Airlines), and joint-venture airline Polynesian Blue
. Its main shareholder is the Virgin Group
. Its head office is located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane
, Queensland
, Australia
.
In 2001 the then Air New Zealand
owned Ansett Australia
made a buyout offer of $250 million which, was publicly rejected by Richard Branson
.
In 2002 Virgin came to an agreement with Patrick Corporation
to invest in the airline, to allow it to grow into a national airline, filling the void left by the demise of Ansett Australia.
In return for a 50% share of the company, Patrick invested A$260 million. At the time, the view was that Patrick's shareholding would also allow the company to benefit from their new shareholders political connections with the Howard Government, and also 'Greenwash' the company, allowing it to be described as Australian-owned.
In 2003 Virgin Blue Holdings Limited was floated on the Australian Securities Exchange
as Virgin Group sought to sell down its holdings.
Patrick Corporation was later taken over and merged into Toll Holdings
in 2006, who continued the partnership and ownership of shares in Virgin Blue Holdings. In 2008 the group announced a plan to distribute 98.3% of its shares in the company to its shareholders, thus making itself no longer a majority stakeholder. At the time Toll Holdings owned 62.7% of the company and had previously attempted to sell the share to no avail.
On the 20 January 2011, Air New Zealand purchased 14.99% of shares in Virgin Blue Holdings ltd, paying A$145 million (NZ$188.9 Million).
. As of 2008, 1,000 employees work at Virgin Village. The building, with about 13220 sqm A-Grade office space, was triple net leased to Virgin Blue.
As the airline started operations, it decided to place its head office in the Brisbane area. Brett Godfrey, the chief executive of Virgin Blue, said in 2006 that the decision "was a long considered one and has worked well." The airline originally had its head office in Fortitude Valley. The airline purchased a $61 million site in Bowen Hills for its new head office. The firm Sunland Group, which had acquired the Bowen Hills site for $8 million in 2005, had scheduled to complete the new head office in March, and the airline would be ready to move into the new head office by August of the following year. The current head office facility, Virgin Village, formally opened on 17 October 2008.
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
that owns and operates Virgin Australia (incorporating V Australia
V Australia
Virgin Australia International Airlines Pty Ltd, trading as V Australia, is a long haul international airline owned by Virgin Blue Holdings. It operates as an international feeder for Virgin Australia...
and Pacific Blue Airlines), and joint-venture airline Polynesian Blue
Polynesian Blue
Polynesian Blue is a Virgin Blue Holdings airline that flies between Samoa, Australia and New Zealand. It is 49% owned by the Samoan government,...
. Its main shareholder is the Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
. Its head office is located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Ownership History
Virgin Blue was formed in 2000 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Virgin Group.In 2001 the then Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...
owned Ansett Australia
Ansett Australia
Ansett Australia, Ansett, Ansett Airlines of Australia, or ANSETT-ANA as it was commonly known in earlier years, was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne. The airlines flew domestically within Australia and to destinations in Asia during its operation in 1996...
made a buyout offer of $250 million which, was publicly rejected by Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
.
In 2002 Virgin came to an agreement with Patrick Corporation
Patrick Corporation
Patrick Corporation Ltd was an Australian publicly listed logistics conglomerate. Headed by CEO Chris Corrigan before it was absorbed by Toll Holdings in 2006, Patrick had interests in shipping, rail and aviation, including a 62% shareholding in airline Virgin Blue...
to invest in the airline, to allow it to grow into a national airline, filling the void left by the demise of Ansett Australia.
In return for a 50% share of the company, Patrick invested A$260 million. At the time, the view was that Patrick's shareholding would also allow the company to benefit from their new shareholders political connections with the Howard Government, and also 'Greenwash' the company, allowing it to be described as Australian-owned.
In 2003 Virgin Blue Holdings Limited was floated on the Australian Securities Exchange
Australian Securities Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
as Virgin Group sought to sell down its holdings.
Patrick Corporation was later taken over and merged into Toll Holdings
Toll Holdings
TOLL , properly TOLL Holdings Limited, is Australia's largest transport company, based in Melbourne, Victoria. The company has operations in road, rail, sea and air in 55 countries....
in 2006, who continued the partnership and ownership of shares in Virgin Blue Holdings. In 2008 the group announced a plan to distribute 98.3% of its shares in the company to its shareholders, thus making itself no longer a majority stakeholder. At the time Toll Holdings owned 62.7% of the company and had previously attempted to sell the share to no avail.
On the 20 January 2011, Air New Zealand purchased 14.99% of shares in Virgin Blue Holdings ltd, paying A$145 million (NZ$188.9 Million).
Head office
Virgin Blue Holdings has its head office in Virgin Village in Bowen Hills, BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. As of 2008, 1,000 employees work at Virgin Village. The building, with about 13220 sqm A-Grade office space, was triple net leased to Virgin Blue.
As the airline started operations, it decided to place its head office in the Brisbane area. Brett Godfrey, the chief executive of Virgin Blue, said in 2006 that the decision "was a long considered one and has worked well." The airline originally had its head office in Fortitude Valley. The airline purchased a $61 million site in Bowen Hills for its new head office. The firm Sunland Group, which had acquired the Bowen Hills site for $8 million in 2005, had scheduled to complete the new head office in March, and the airline would be ready to move into the new head office by August of the following year. The current head office facility, Virgin Village, formally opened on 17 October 2008.