FirstGroup acquires bus company Anderson Travel
- Anderson is based near Tower Bridge in London and operates around 40 coaches
- FirstGroup’s latest acquisition comes after it bought York Pullman in March
FirstGroup has bought coach company Anderson Travel for an undisclosed sum, strengthening its FirstBus division.
Based near London’s famous Tower Bridge, Anderson operates approximately 40 coaches of various sizes from its depots in Central London and Heathrow Airport.
The services it provides include a contracted school, a minibus, private group tours and a day trip program aimed at international tourists.
Acquisition: FirstGroup has bought coach company Anderson Travel for an undisclosed amount to help strengthen its FirstBus division
In the year ending June 2023, it made Ā£7.3m in revenues and Ā£1m in profits before interest and tax.
Gerald Koo, a research analyst at Panmure Liberum, estimates that FirstGroup spent a “high single-digit million” on acquiring Anderson, based on the latter’s historical financial performance.
Mark Anderson, the group’s founder and majority shareholder, will remain responsible for day-to-day operations as the group is integrated into First Bus.
FirstGroup’s latest acquisition comes after it bought York Pullman, which includes five bus service brands, in March and Ensign Bus, based in Essex, last year.
Graham Sutherland, CEO of FirstGroup, said the deal ābuilds on our recent strategic acquisitions in the B2B and B2C coach marketā.
He added: ‘We will continue to identify and assess opportunities to diversify and grow as we increase our share of the UK’s adjacent services market, where we see significant opportunities for stable, long-term and value-adding growth. ‘
FirstGroup has expanded its coach operations in anticipation that the new Labor government will renationalise Britain’s rail network.
The Aberdeen-based company operates three major train operators: Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway and South Western Railway, as well as the open access rail services Lumo and Hull Trains.
In its latest fiscal year covering the 12 months ending March 2024, the First Rail business reported revenues of around Ā£3.7 billion and 274 million passengers, up 10.9 percent on the previous year.
While the company’s FirstBus division achieved just Ā£1 billion in revenues, it attracted 424.4 million passengers, equivalent to 1.1 million journeys per day.
According to FirstGroup, the bus division operates over 4,800 buses, employs around 13,500 people and serves over a fifth of the UK population.
FirstGroup shares were up 0.7 per cent to 140.3p on Monday morning, but are down around 20 per cent this year.
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