The London Chronicle, December 13th, 1905

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The London Chronicle, December 13th,
1905 Motorists organization created
Last night in the comfortable confines of the
Empire Travellers Club in St. Jamess, London,
one hundred motorcar owners met over dinner to
form the British Automobile Club. Our purpose,
said Sir Cecil Ferndown, the new President, is
to protect the interest of motorists in the new
age of automobile travel.
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The London Chronicle, December 13th, 1955 BAC
celebrates 50 years with record membership
travellers from insurance to breakdown support
the BAC has been a tremendous success, said
the present President, Simon Philips. He added
that the BAC planned to launch a series of travel
guides in 1956. I wonder what the original
members would think of it all.
A party was held last night to celebrate a half
century of service to motorists in the same room
where the BAC was inaugurated. With 5 million
members and a range of services to all kinds of
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The London Chronicle, May 14th, 1998 BAC likely
to demutualize and be bought by French telecom
giant for 1.2 billion
It looks probable that after nearly a century as
a members club, the BAC will demutualize and
become a part of the French phone company, TFA.
It is a very good offer and I hope our members
will vote in favour, said the outgoing
president, Lord Goodfellow. As we approach the
new millennium, we have to change to meet the new
challenges.
4
Internet research Look up demutualization and
mutual organization on the Wikipedia website
at www.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, which is an online free-content
encyclopedia, is a great source of information
when doing research on the Internet.
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Im worried that the quality of service will go
down in the search for profit. BAC member
What does TFA know about motorists? Theyre a
phone company after all! BAC member
Im worried for my job. There is bound to be
some rationalization. BAC employee
6
TFA will invest in the brand and develop the
services on offer. Especially in the area of IT.
It is a fantastic opportunity for all of us. BAC
employee
Ive always liked the idea of the BAC being a
club and I think its likely it will lose its
identity. Its a pity things have to change. BAC
customer
Im definitely going to vote yes. Im going to
make a 5,000 windfall on my membership. BAC
member.
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The London Chronicle, June 4th, 2004 BAC goes
online
The BAC announced today two new free online
services to help their customers. The first is a
route planner, which shows street level detail,
and the second is a second-hand car buyers
guide. It is all part of improving services to
our 12 million customers, said a spokesman, and
shows the benefit of being part of a telecom
company. He added We are also launching a
monthly motoring magazine later in the year and
an even faster breakdown service.
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The London Chronicle, June 14th, 2005 TFA sells
the BAC
After five years of ownership TFA has announced
it has agreed to sell the BAC to JMQ, the private
equity fund for 1.9 billion. TFA paid 1.5
billion for the BAC in 1998. Since then, the
company has seen a growth in customer numbers and
the range of services it provides.
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The London Chronicle, 7th, October 2007 BAC to be
sold again!
Private equity firm JMQ is believed to be
planning to either sell the BAC business or float
it on the stock market. It is said TFA want to
raise 3 billion for the 15 million member
business. In 2005, the BAC was bought from TFA
for 1.7 billion. Subsequently there were job
losses and parts of the business were sold off.
Recently there have been complaints from
customers about the quality of service.