1995 Thompson Holidays

The company (originally named Thomson Tour Operations (TTO), and renamed in 1997) was founded as part of the Thomson Travel Group in 1965 following the acquisition of four tour operators, Skytours, Riviera, Gaytours and Luxitours and the airline Britannia Airways by Roy Thomson.

Intense competition continued between the four acquired operators which allowed the rival Clarksons Travel Group to become the lead player in the new and rapidly expanding UK package holiday market, while Thomson initially lacked any effective strategy to fight back. But in 1971, following the appointment of Brian Llewellyn as TTO’s 7th Managing Director, a whole new Board of Directors was created, with the travel trade veteran Norman Corkhill as company chairman. A clear strategy was now implemented, as part of which the businesses were re-branded and re-launched under a single name as “Thomson Holidays”.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1980s Intercity

FileInterCity_LogoInterCity (or, in the earliest days, the hyphenated Inter-City) was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services (see British Rail brand names for a full history).

In 1986 the British Railways Board divided its operations into a number of sectors (“sectorisation”). The sector responsible for long-distance express trains assumed the brand-name InterCity, although many routes that were previously operated as InterCity services were assigned to other sectors (e.g., London to King’s Lynn services were transferred to the commuter sector Network SouthEast).

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1988 Butlins

butlinsBetween 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and one in The Bahamas. In the 1970s and 1980s Butlins also operated numerous large hotels including one in Spain, a number of smaller holiday parks in England and France, and a revolving restaurant in the Post Office Tower in London.

Tough competition from overseas package holiday operators, rising operational costs, and rapidly changing demand forced many of these to close in the 1980s and 1990s. Three of the original camps remain open under the Butlins’ brand in Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness. They are now owned and run by Butlins Skyline Ltd a subsidiary company of Bourne Leisure Ltd which also operates other leisure brands in the UK including Warner Leisure Hotels and Haven Holidays.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1985 Thomas Cook Holidays

Thomas Cook Group plc is a British global online/offline travel company created on 19 June 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc. At flotation on the London Stock Exchange 52% of the shares in the new company were held by the German mail order and department store corporation Arcandor (former owners of Thomas Cook AG) and 48% owned by the shareholders of MyTravel. On 9 June 2009 Arcandor filed for bankruptcy.  The merger, which was backed by 99.9% of shareholders, took place through the formation of ‘NewCo’ which effectively purchased MyTravel and Thomas Cook and was then listed on the London Stock Exchange under the name of Thomas Cook Group plc (LSE: TCG).  It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1985 British Rail

British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the “Big Four” British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in 1962: the British Railways Board.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1988 P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Irelandand Continental Europe (France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain). These were previously operated at different times as separate subsidiaries of P&O under the names Pandoro Ltd, P&O European Ferries, P&O Portsmouth, P&O North Sea Ferries, P&O Irish Sea and the joint venture P&O Stena Line.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia