Stagecoach to buy FirstGroup's North Devon bus business

Stagecoach is hoping to buy FirstGroup's North Devon bus operations, the FTSE 250 transport groups announced on Monday afternoon.

The deal, which still subject to clearance by the Office of Fair Trading, is worth £2.8m.

"We believe our acquisition of the North Devon business would deliver a more sustainable combined bus network for the long term. It would protect and improve services for the local community, help support future investment in better vehicles and offer good value fares for customers," said Stagecoach UK Bus's Managing Director Les Warneford.

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Stagecoach will buy around 30 vehicles which operate on 10 routes in North Devon and will take on around 100 employees at a small depot facility in Barnstaple. This will add to Stagecoach's current services which have been running from a depot in the town since 2006, operating 48 vehicles and employing 120 staff.

"It is anticipated that the combined business will deliver a more sustainable combined bus network, allowing future investment in improved vehicles, more frequent services and good value fares," Stagecoach said.

The acquired operations will be integrated into Stagecoach South West, a division which already employs around 900 people and operates 320 buses on 120 routes across Devon and Somerset.

The annual turnover of the FirstGroup business for the year ended March 31st was around £3m.

""The sale of our North Devon operations marks a further step in our ongoing programme to pursue selective asset and business disposals as part of our strategy to review the scope and scale of our business as we position our UK Bus division for the longer term," said FirstGroup's Chief Executive Tim O'Toole.

BC