Australia has to be one of the most marketable brands in the world.  It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the land down under – both from a personal and business perspective.  The lifestyle is second to none, the people are warm and friendly and I think the business environment is perfect for challenger companies like Virgin.

Virgin has established Australia practically as its second home.  We have a range of companies and services operating there from airlines to credit cards to mobile phones.  We’ve found Australia attractive to Virgin over the years because I think Australians are great value-seekers.  They know a good deal when they see one and they also know when they’re getting a raw deal – I suppose this is the sort of environment Virgin loves to play in and it’s the reason we founded Virgin Blue in 2000 to shake up the domestic aviation market.

As an investor, you need to assess the opportunity and the environment you’re heading into.  Australia is very stable from a social, political and economical point of view – and ticks all those boxes.  But beyond the usual indicators there’s an inherent quality in the Australia psyche of giving everyone a ‘fair go’ and encouraging the new guy. It probably comes from being a relatively young and vibrant country. 

I think the way Australia steered itself through the global financial crisis without ever really dipping into recession says a lot.  While the rest of the world’s economies were on their knees, Australia seemed to move through relatively unscathed. 

Despite the fact that Australia’s economy has proven seemingly recession-proof over the past few years I think there have been some negative side effects which has left some sectors ripe for competition and investment.  Consolidation is part and parcel of any major economic crisis and this was no different in Australia’s financial services sector.  We saw financial services as one big area of opportunity where the ‘Big Four’ banks control around 80% of the market. 

Earlier this year I was in Australia to announce one of our biggest investments in Australia yet.  On a beautiful morning at Sydney’s stunning Circular Quay, we unveiled the launch of Virgin Money’s new range of retail banking products, starting with two new credit cards and an online savings account.  The progress since launch has been very encouraging and I’m pleased to say we’re cementing our position as Australia’s fastest growing bank.  The response from the Australian public has been overwhelming and as I think they have been attracted by our value offering and the competition we are bringing to the market. 

I sometimes find it funny to think that we’ve come from the Sex Pistols to finance, but ultimately I’m pleased the Virgin brand has such resonance in Australia.  We’ve carved out a significant footprint in Australia over the last ten years and I look forward to the next decade of investment and expansion.

- Sir Richard Branson