Timeline of Richard Branson's Business Ventures - 1980s

1980s

• 1980 - Virgin Records goes international
• 1981 - Virgin buys the Kensington Roof Gardens
• 1983 - Virgin Vision, later to become Virgin Communications, is formed to distribute films and videos in the television and broadcasting sector.
• 1983 - Virgin Games is launched.
• 1984 - Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin cargo are launched.
• 1984 - Virgin Vision (launched the previous year) launches "Music Box", a 24-hour satellite music station.
• 1985 - Virgin Group now includes record labels, retail outlets, exported music publishing, broadcasting, satellite television, and film and video distribution.
• 1985 - Branson starts Virgin Holidays
• 1987 - Branson takes Virgin Records to the United States
• 1987 - The Virgin Group, along with Granada, Anglia and Pearson, founds BSB (British Satellite Broadcasting) and receives a UK license to broadcast five new TV channels by satellite in the UK.
• 1987 - Virgin sets up 525, a post production facility in Los Angeles, to work on high-end commercials and pop videos.
• 1987 - Virgin sets up "Music Box" as an independent producer of music programmes.
• 1987 - Virgin buys a 45% stake in Mastertronic Group. Later Virgin Mastertronic becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Group, creating, marketing and distributing computer games software and Sega consoles in several European countries.
• 1987 - Virgin buys Rushes Postproduction in London.
• 1987 - Virgin launches Virgin Airship & Balloon Company.
• 1987 - Richard Branson launched Mates condoms in the UK to promote condoms to young adults
• 1988 - Virgin re-opens the recently acquired and re-modeled Olympic Studios in Barnes, London.
• 1988 - Virgin launches Virgin Classics, another Virgin international record label specializing in high-quality classical music.
• 1988 - Virgin sells some of its smaller UK retail stores and puts more money into Virgin Megastores, opening new stores both in the UK and abroad.
• 1988 - Virgin sets up Virgin Broadcasting.
• 1988 - Virgin sells its shareholding in BSB.