 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| ISIN | GB0003452173  |
| Industry | Transport |
| Founded | 1 April 1995 |
| Headquarters | Aberdeen, Scotland, UK |
Area served | United Kingdom Ireland |
Key people | Peter Lynas (Acting Chairman) Graham Sutherland (Chief Executive) |
| Products | Bus, coach, rail & tram |
| Revenue |  £4,715.1 million (2024)[1] |
| £46.5 million (2024)[1] | |
| £(9.4) million (2024)[1] | |
Number of employees | 29,339 (2024)[1] |
| Subsidiaries | See below |
| Website | www |
FirstGroup plc is a Britishmulti-nationaltransport group, based inAberdeen, Scotland.[2] The company operates transport services in theUnited Kingdom andIreland. It is listed on theLondon Stock Exchange and is a constituent of theFTSE 250 Index.[3]
The creation of what became FirstGroup is closely tied to thederegulation of bus services in the United Kingdom during the 1980s. During April 1995, two acquisitive private bus operators,Badgerline andGRT Bus Group, merged to create FirstBus. The new company initially operated a fleet of 5,600 buses to provide services to numerous regions across England, Wales and Scotland. Throughout the late 1990s, FirstBus continued its policy of growth by acquisition. To this end, it acquired severalformer council owned operations and companies formerly owned byEnglish, Welsh andScottish nationalised operators.
During December 1997, the company was renamedFirstGroup to reflect its entry into Britain'srecently privatised railways. Around this time, it had a 24.5% shareholding inGreat Western Holdings that was awarded theGreat Western andNorth Western franchises, as well as a 100% shareholding inFirst Great Eastern. FirstGroup made its first overseas foray in September 1998 via a 26% shareholding in the joint ventureNew World First Bus that provided bus services inHong Kong. In September 1999, FirstGroup purchased the American companyRyder Public Transport Services.[4] During May 2000, it began operating theLondon Tramlink concession. During August 2003, FirstGroup purchasedGB Railways, which ownedAnglia Railways andGB Railfreight and held 80% of the shares inHull Trains.
In February 2007, FirstGroup agreed to buy the US-based bus operatorLaidlaw, along with a controlling stake inGreyhound Lines, the largest bus operator in North America. During June 2009, FirstGroup made an unsuccessful takeover bid for rival transport operatorNational Express. In June 2010, FirstGroup sold its rail freight businessFirst GBRf to theEurotunnel Group, exiting the rail freight sector as a result. During October 2016, First Transit commenced operating theA-train, its first rail operation in the United States. In August 2017, FirstGroup's joint venture withMTR Corporation commenced operating theSouth Western franchise. In May 2020, FirstGroup announced it would retain its UK bus operations and sell off its activities in North America. During June 2022, FirstGroup rejected a £1.2bn takeover offer from US private equity companyI Squared Capital.
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FirstGroup originated within thederegulation of bus services in the United Kingdom in 1986, whereby private companies purchased nationalised and municipal bus operators.[5] During September 1986, theSomerset based services of theBristol Omnibus Company that were rebranded in 1985 asBadgerline were purchased in amanagement buyout. As Badgerline Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing other formerly nationalised bus companies in England and Wales.[6]
In January 1989,Grampian Regional Transport, the bus operator inAberdeen owned byGrampian Regional Council, was privatised in a management buyout led by its then general manager,Moir Lockhead.[7] AsGRT Bus Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing six former nationalised bus companies in England and Scotland.[8] During April 1995, FirstBus was formed through the merger of the Badgerline and GRT Bus Groups, with fleets in England, Wales and Scotland. The formerKing Street Barracks site inAberdeen was selected as the headquarters.[9] At the time of the merger, FirstBus had 5,600 buses, 4,000 of which came from Badgerline.[8] Badgerline's Trevor Smallwood became chairman of FirstBus, while GRT head Moir Lockhead became deputy chairman and chief executive.[8]
Throughout the late 1990s, FirstBus continued its policy of growth by acquisition. To this end, it acquired severalformer council owned operations and companies formerly owned byEnglish, Welsh andScottish nationalised operators. FirstBus went on to acquire larger urban metropolitan operators by taking advantage of theprivatisation of the PTE bus operations and theprivatisation of London bus services. FirstBus acquiredGM Buses North in Manchester andStrathclyde Buses in Glasgow in 1996,Mainline inSouth Yorkshire andCentreWest in London in 1997, andCapital Citybus in London in 1998.[8]
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During December 1997, the company was renamedFirstGroup.[2] This change was due to the company's entry in February 1996 into Britain'srecently privatised railways, having a 24.5% shareholding inGreat Western Holdings that won theGreat Western andNorth Western franchises, and a 100% shareholding inFirst Great Eastern that ran the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997. In March 1998, FirstGroup purchased the 75.5% shares in Great Western Holdings that it did not already own and rebranded the franchisesFirst Great Western andFirst North Western.[10][11][12]
In September 1998, FirstGroup made its first overseas foray whenNew World First Bus commenced operating bus services in Hong Kong formerly operated byChina Motor Bus; the company held a 26% shareholding in the joint venture.[13] During May 2000, FirstGroup sold its shares to joint venture partnerNew World Development.[14] In September 1999, FirstGroup purchasedRyder Public Transport Services, a provider of school bus and contracted public bus transportation in the United States.[4] In May 2000, FirstGroup began operating theLondon Tramlink concession under contract toTransport for London.[15]
During August 2003, FirstGroup purchasedGB Railways, which ownedAnglia Railways andGB Railfreight and held 80% of the shares inHull Trains.[16] Having not been shortlisted for theGreater Anglia franchise, this outcome gave FirstGroup another chance to bid. However, it too was unsuccessful and the franchise was awarded to the rival transport companyNational Express from April 2004, including the services operated by First Great Eastern.[17] In November 2003, FirstGroup purchased a 90% shareholding in Irish coach operatorAircoach.[18]
In February 2004, FirstGroup's joint venture withKeolis commenced operating theFirst TransPennine Express rail franchise, FirstGroup having a 55% shareholding in the venture.[19][20] During April 2004, FirstGroup commenced operating theFirst Great Western Link franchise,[21] it also commenced theFirst ScotRail franchise in October 2004.[22] In December 2004, the remainder ofFirst North Western passed toNorthern Rail, some services having already been transferred toArriva Trains Wales and FirstTranspennine Express.[23]
During April 2006, FirstGroup commenced operating theFirst Capital Connect franchise[24] and a renewedFirst Great Western franchise that had been expanded to include theThames Trains andWessex Trains franchises.[25][26]
In February 2007, FirstGroup agreed to buy the US-based firmLaidlaw, an operator of inter-city coaches andyellow school buses across North America, in exchange for £1.9 billion (US$3.7 billion). This also gave it a controlling stake inGreyhound Lines, the largest bus operator in North America. The Greyhound name and the names of Canadian subsidiaries ofGreyhound Canada were retained, and all other Laidlaw-owned services in the United States and Canada were rebranded under the First or Greyhound names, except forVoyageur Colonial andGrey Goose in Canada.[27]
In January 2009,DSBFirst, FirstGroup's joint venture withDanish State Railways commenced operating theOresundtrain rail franchise fromHelsingør andNivå in Denmark along theKystbanen line and over theØresund Bridge toMalmö,Växjö,Kalmar,Karlskrona andGothenburg in Sweden. FirstGroup had a 25% shareholding in the Danish business and 20% in the Swedish business.[28] By March 2011, this shareholding had increased to 30%.[29]
During June 2009, FirstGroup made a takeover offer for fellow transport operatorNational Express, which was struggling with debt at the time and was struggling to hold onto itsNational Express East Coast rail franchise.[30][31] This offer was rejected; a National Express spokesperson stated that it did not "consider it appropriate" at the time to discuss a takeover. FirstGroup believed that there was "significant industrial and commercial logic" for a merger, but National Express wished to focus on its own initiatives.[32]
In June 2010, FirstGroup sold its railfreight businessFirst GBRf to theEurotunnel Group in exchange for £31 million,[33][34] ending the group's involvement in rail freight transport.[35] In September 2010, formerLondon Underground managing directorTim O'Toole, already a board member since May 2009 and chief operating officer and Deputy Chief Executive since June 2010, was announced as the successor to retiring group chief executive officer Moir Lockhead with effect from 31 March 2011.[36][37]
During September 2011, FirstGroup's German bus operations were sold to Marwyn European Transport.[38] In December 2011,DSBFirst ceased operating the Swedish part of the operation after difficulties encountered by Danish State Railways overcross subsidies.[39][40][41]
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In July 2012,First Travel Solutions provided bus and coach services for theLondon 2012 Olympic Games as First Games Transport. This involved the provision of venue shuttle and park and ride services, services connecting the peripheral park and ride sites on theM25 with theOlympic Park andEbbsfleet, and a nationwide network of express coaches to the Olympic Park and theWeymouth and Portland sailing venue. These services required around 900 vehicles in total, although some were sub-contracted.[42] During June 2013, most of theFirst London bus operations were sold toGo-Ahead London,Metroline andTower Transit.[43]
In April 2015, FirstGroup was unsuccessful in bidding for theScotRail franchise, which was run byAbellio ScotRail until the end of that franchise in March 2022. During December 2015, FirstGroup was awarded the nextTransPennine Express franchise.[44] The new franchise commenced on 1 April 2016 with a commitment to introduce new trains, routes and faster journey times.[44][45]
During October 2016, First Transit commenced operating theA-train under contract to theDenton County Transportation Authority, its first rail operation in the United States.[46][47] In August 2017, FirstGroup's joint venture withMTR Corporation commenced operating theSouth Western franchise, the company holding a 70% shareholding inSouth Western Railway.[48][49]
In May 2019, FirstGroup announced its intention to sell its UK bus operations and that its US activities were to receive greater attention in the future.[50] However, the only sales completed were parts ofFirst Greater Manchester to theGo-Ahead Group andRotala.[51][52]
In May 2020, FirstGroup announced it has effectively reversed its previous strategy, opting to retain its UK bus operations and instead sell its assets in North America.[53] In April 2021, FirstGroup agreed terms to sell theFirst Student andFirst Transit businesses toEQT; the sale completed later in 2021.[54][55][56]
During October 2021, FirstGroup announced the sale of Greyhound Lines toFlixbus, completing its stated divestments to focus on its core UK public transport businesses.[57] In October 2021, theopen-access operatorLumo commenced operating services on theEast Coast Main Line.[58][59]
In June 2022, FirstGroup's board unanimously rejected a £1.2bn takeover proposal from US private equity firmI Squared Capital; a spokesperson stated that the offer had undervalued the company.[60][61] While talks between the two companies continued for a further two months,[62] I Squared ultimately called off its efforts in August 2022.[63]
In February 2023, FirstGroup announced that subject to regulatory approval, it would purchase both the bus services and bus dealer operations ofPurfleet-basedEnsignbus.[64][65]
In January 2024, FirstGroup purchasedYork Pullman.[66] In October 2024, FirstGroup purchased both Lakeside Group and Anderson Travel.[67][68]
In September 2024, FirstGroup purchasedGrand Union'sLondon Euston toStirling operating rights.[69] Then in December 2024, it purchased Grand Union's other approved operating rights fromLondon Paddington toCarmarthen.[70]
Also in December 2024, FirstGroup announced it has agreed terms to purchaseRATP Dev Transit London fromRATP Group.[71][72]
In January 2025, FirstGroup purchased Matthews Coach Hire.[73]
FirstGroup is Britain's largest bus operator, running more than 20% of all local bus services. A fleet of nearly 9,000 buses carries some 2.9 million passengers a day in more than 40 major towns and cities. FirstGroup also runs passenger rail services in the UK. Passenger rail franchises consist ofAvanti West Coast,Great Western Railway andSouth Western Railway. It also runs two non-franchised open access passenger operations –Hull Trains andLumo. FirstGroup operates tram services on theLondon Tramlink network carrying approximately 24 million passengers per year on behalf ofTransport for London.[74]
FirstGroup owns and operates theAircoach service inDublin, linkingDublin Airport with the city centre, the south side of Dublin, Greystones andBray as well as long-distance express services runs toCork andBelfast.[75]
FirstGroup has always had a consistent brand and uses the First brand for most of its operations. FirstBus began to apply a standard corporate typeface to its fleet names in the late 1990s, introducing the stylizedf logo depicting a road. A corporate white, pink and blue livery nicknamed "Barbie" was introduced to new buses, while further bus company acquisitions continued. Inherited bus fleets were initially left in their original colours with First fleet names, with the intention that the Barbie scheme would stand for a set service quality. Later older buses received a modified "Barbie 2" livery.[76]
As part of its corporate branding, First subsequently removed all local branding for its bus services, buses simply carried the 'First' brand, although each company still operated independently. In 2012, the group began to introduce a new purple, white and lilac 'Olympia' livery to its bus fleets, which also reinstated local branding.[77][78] In January 2014, the company rebranded itsFirst Somerset & Avon operations inBridgwater andTaunton asThe Buses of Somerset, using a two-tone green livery.[79][80]
The FirstGroup's bus operations were rebranded again in December 2024, adopting a new logo that replaced the one used since the formation of FirstBus in April 1995 as well as the slogan of 'Moving the Everyday'.[81][82] This coincided with the introduction of a purple and grey livery, which had already begun to be rolled out onto the group's bus fleets.[83]
Hull Trains carries a predominantly blue livery, including white, pink and purple. This was also used by First Great Western until 20 September 2015, when the franchise was rebranded as Great Western Railway, with a new logo and dark green livery paying homage to the originalGreat Western Railway.[84]
In Scotland,First ScotRail operated with a blue livery with whitesaltire markings on the carriage ends, as mandated by the Scottish Government's transport agencyTransport Scotland.[85]
Current operating businesses include:[86]
In September 2022 First Bus was reorganised as follows:[87][88]
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