Precisely speaking, Martin was one of the founders and leaders of the business that was initially set up as a Newcastle-based Northern General bus firm in 1987. After a while, the company was renamed Go Ahead and then got listed on the stock exchange in 1994 with a value of £40m. Now it is worth £600m and Diana Ballinger holds a £34m stake in it. The family also has other wealth and does serious charity work through the Ballinger Charitable Trust.
