Following a period of unprofitable operations, the InterCity East Coast franchise passed from NXEC to East Coast, an operator owned by the Department for Transport. From the beginning of East Coast's operations, it was made clear that it was the DfT's intention was that the franchise be retendered in future years. To this end East Coast soon adopted a deliberately plain livery that would be easy for a new operator to re-brand. The franchise eventually passed to Virgin Trains East Coast in March 2015