 | |
 National Express Coach atBirmingham Coach Station, the company’s headquarters | |
| Formerly | National Express Group plc |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public limited |
| LSE: MCG | |
| Industry | Transport |
| Founded | 1972; 53 years ago (1972) |
| Founder | National Bus Company |
| Headquarters | Birmingham, England[1] |
Area served |
|
Key people |
|
| Revenue |  £3,150.9 million (2023)[2] |
 £168.6 million (2023)[2] | |
| £(162.7) million (2023)[2] | |
Number of employees | 47,700 (2025)[3] |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | mobicogroup |
Mobico Group, formerlyNational Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters inBirmingham, England.[4] Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands includingNational Express. The company also operates transport services including trains abroad: in theRepublic of Ireland, United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Germany, Bahrain, Morocco, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and South Korea, and long-distance coach services across Europe. It is listed on theLondon Stock Exchange and is a constituent of theFTSE 250 Index.
In 1972, the state-ownedNational Bus Company decided to bring together the scheduled coach services operated by its bus operating companies in the United Kingdom under one brand.Sir Frederick Wood, a prominent businessman and industrialist, was asked to oversee the creation of this new business model and led the group as its chairman from 1972 to 1978.[5] Initially branded asNational, theNational Express brand was first used in 1974.[6][7]
With the privatisation of the National Bus Company in the 1980s, National Express was subject to amanagement buyout in March 1988. The management team pursued various means of diversification; during 1989, the company purchasedCrosville Wales.[8]
Starting in early 1990s, National Express' financial performance began to deteriorate; this led to a new management team taking over the company in July 1991 which had the backing ofECI Partners, a mid-market private equity firm. The new team refocused the group on its core activities, leading to the sale of Crosville Wales toBritish Bus.[9] During October 1991, it purchased Speedlink, an operator of coach services betweenGatwick andHeathrow Airports.[7] In December 1992, National Express Group plc was floated on theLondon Stock Exchange.[6]
In 1993,Scottish Citylink,Eurolines andEast Midlands Airport were acquired.[10][11] During April 1995, National Express purchasedWest Midlands Travel, the formerly council-owned bus network ofBirmingham and theWest Midlands;[6] it was rebrandedTravel West Midlands in September 1996. This move began the brand family ofTravel ... local bus operations.Bournemouth Airport was acquired in April 1995.[12]
During April 1996, National Express commenced operating its first UK railway franchises,Gatwick Express andMidland Mainline. One year later, three other franchises were awarded, these beingSilverlink,Central Trains andScotRail. To comply with aMonopolies & Mergers Commission ruling on it winning theScotRail franchise, National Express sold theScottish Citylink operation toMetroline in August 1998.[13][14]
In February 1997, Taybus Public Transport was acquired and rebrandedTravel Dundee.[15]
During September 1998, Crabtree-Harmon, the seventh-largest student transportation bus company in the United States was acquired, with 82 school bus contracts mainly inMissouri, but also in other Midwest states includingColorado,Iowa,Kansas,Oklahoma andUtah. During February 1999, Robinson Bus Service was purchased; it was followed in August 1999 byDurham Transportation. These acquisitions placed National Express as one of the top three United States school bus operators.[16]
In May 1999, National Express purchased Australia's largest private bus operator,National Bus Company.[17] National Bus Company had bus operations inBrisbane,Melbourne andPerth, and also held a 57% shareholding inWestbus,Sydney's largest bus operator. Westbus also had a London coach operation.[18] In August 1999, National Express was awarded theM>Train,M>Tram andV/Line Passenger rail franchises in the Australian state ofVictoria.[19][20]
During January 2000, National Express expanded into the American market by acquiring ATC, a public transportation operator.[21] In July 2000,Prism Rail was purchased, though which thec2c,Wales & Borders,Wessex Trains andWest Anglia Great Northern franchises were added to National Express' portfolio.[22][23]
In December 2002, National Express handed in its rail franchises inVictoria, Australia, having been unable to renegotiate financial terms with theState Government.[24][25]
During February 2004, the London bus operations ofConnex were purchased and rebrandedTravel London.[26] In April 2004,National Express East Anglia commenced operating theGreater Anglia rail franchise.[27] In September 2004, National Express sold itsMelbourne bus operations toVentura Bus Lines, andBrisbane andPerth bus operations toConnex.[28][29] After being placed in administration in January 2005, Westbus was sold toComfortDelGro Cabcharge in August 2005.[30][31]
In June 2005, the London bus arm ofTellings-Golden Miller was purchased by National Express, after which it was rebranded as Travel London.[32] During July 2005, National Express sold ATC to Connex.[33] In October 2005, the company agreed to buy most of the operations of privately owned Spanish transport operatorALSA, which operates bus and coach services in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, and long-distance coach services to other parts of Europe. Alsa's operations in South America and China were retained by the previous owners.[34]
In April 2007, National Express acquired Continental Auto, the second-largest bus and coach operator in Spain.[35]
During November 2007, South East England coach operatorThe Kings Ferry was purchased[36] and an airport to hotel shuttle service in London brandedDot2Dot was launched.[37] Dot2Dot did not prove to be commercially viable and thus ceased operations in November 2008.[38]
In November 2007, National Express announced plans to re-brand all of their operations under a new unified National Express identity. It was intended to achieve greater recognition for all the group companies, to coincide with recent acquisitions and after current rail operations had improved in reliability to warrant association with the established express coach image. It coincided with the appointment of a group director for all UK operations and relocation of the head office fromLondon toBirmingham, bringing all operations under a single strategic management structure. Day-to-day management remained within individual companies.[39]
During February 2007, the Department for Transport announced that National Express, along withArriva,First, andVirgin Rail Group, had been shortlisted to lodge bids for theInterCity East Coast franchise.[40] In August 2007, the Department for Transport awarded the Intercity East Coast franchise to National Express, leading to the creation of National Express East Coast (NXEC) shortly thereafter.[41][42] Under the terms of its franchise agreement, National Express committed to paying a £1.4-billion premium to the Department of Transport over a time span of seven years and four months. However, numerous rail analysts promptly voiced concerns that the company had paid too much for the franchise, and had effectively repeated GNER's mistake in order to secure the franchise.[43][44] On 9 December 2007,National Express East Coast commenced operations, taking over fromGreat North Eastern Railway.[45]
In May 2009, National Express sold Travel London andTravel Surrey toAbellio.[46]
On 3 January 2007, a speeding National Express coach overturned on theM4/M25 slip road, leaving three passengers dead. The driver was jailed for five years.[47]
In July 2009, a junior transport minister, theGillingham MPPaul Clark, listed a series of concerns to National Express in a letter following a meeting with an employee of National Express East Coast who lives in his constituency. The worker claimed that, due to reduced maintenance checks, some trains were in use with defective brakes, an allegation that was strongly denied by the company, which stated it would "never compromise on safety". He wrote: "As a result of reduced maintenance checks, 'some long-haul sets [trains] are in use with brake defects'. Increasing cuts in staff combined with an increasing pressure to ensure that trains run safely has resulted in fears among staff that a major accident is 'just around the corner'." Passengers, he added, "have been 'poisoned' as a result of coffee machines not being cleaned correctly, with cleaning fluids left in situ". The minister said he was "shocked and appalled at the information with which I've been provided. You will understand that these allegations are exceptionally serious".[48]
School bus drivers in the US have raised concerns about the safety of the buses run by Durham, a subsidiary of National Express, and the second-largest operator of school bus services in North America. According to representatives of Durham bus drivers, fluid leaks, tyres that need to be replaced, black mould and non-functional emergency equipment are regular concerns, whilst workers continued to operate buses while sick because they cannot afford to miss a day of work and drivers are not paid for all the time they work.[49]
By 2009, National Express East Coast had come under increasing financial pressure due to various factors, including compounding rises in fuel prices and the poor economic climate of the time, commonly known as theGreat Recession. In contrast to the company's projected revenue increases during its franchise, NXEC's actual operating income (generated primarily from ticket sales) had decreased by 1 percent during the first half of 2009.[50] According toRail, the franchise had quickly garnered a reputation for cost-cutting and a decline in service levels, particularly in terms of the onboard catering.[44] It had also introduced various new charges, such as a £2.50 per journey leg for seat reservations.[51][52][53]
During April 2009, National Express confirmed that the company was still pursuing talks with the government over possible financial assistance with the franchise, either through a reduction in the premium due or some other form of assistance.[54][44] During these negotiations, the company had reportedly offered to pay over £100 million to be released from its commitment to operate the franchise.[50] In July 2009, theDepartment for Transport announced that it would take theNational Express East Coast franchise into public ownership at the end of the year after National Express announced it would not invest any further funds into the franchise, effectively declaring it planned to default.[55] In defaulting on the franchise, National Express directly incurred losses of £72 million by forfeiting bonds.[50]Directly Operated Railways took over the East Coast franchise on 14 November 2009.[56]
The franchise failure sparked public and industry calls for the permanent public ownership of the InterCity East Coast franchise, or even the complete scrapping of the entire franchise system.[50] In November 2009, the government announced thatNational Express East Anglia would not be granted a three-year extension that it had otherwise qualified for; this was reportedly a result of the East Coast default.[57][58] However, National Express were subsequently granted an extension until October 2011, followed by another through to February 2012.[59]
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With the company's finances under stress largely as a result of having overbid for theNational Express East Coast rail franchise, National Express became a takeover target in 2009. In June 2009, a takeover offer from fellow transport operatorFirstGroup was rejected.[60] On 3 September 2009, National Express' largest shareholder, Spain's Cosmen family with 18.5%, andCVC Capital Partners made a takeover offer of £765 million for the company.[61][62] TheTakeover Panel set a deadline of 11 September 2009 for all prospective bids.[63]
During September 2009, National Express agreed to allow the Cosmen/CVC consortium to undertakedue diligence.[64] During the following month, the Cosmen/CVC consortium had reportedly reached an agreement to sell the UK bus and rail operations to rival transport operatorStagecoach Group if its offer was successful.[65] The deadline for offers was subsequently extended to 16 October 2009.[66]
On 16 October 2009, the Cosmen/CVC consortium announced that they had withdrawn their offer.[67][68] That same day, Stagecoach submitted its own all-share bid to acquire National Express.[69][70] This, too, did not proceed and, in November 2009, National Express announced it would raise the necessary capital through a share issue.[71]
During February 2013,National Express Germany was awarded two regional rail contracts by theVerkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland and Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe authorities that commenced in December 2015.[72][73]
In January 2015, theBayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft announced that National Express had been selected to operate theNuremberg S-Bahn system from December 2018. It was to have been the firstDeutsche Bahn S-Bahn network to be taken over by a private operator.[74] However, in October 2016, National Express elected to pull out, citing a delay in the ability to order new rolling stock while a challenge brought on by Deutsche Bahn was resolved, would make its bid unviable.[75]
In June 2015, it was announced that the parts 2 and 3 of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express which will be introduced in 2018 will be operated by National Express. This includesRegional-Express services RE4, RE5 and RE6 inNorthrhine-Westphalia.[76]
In December 2016, coach operator Clarkes of London was purchased with 56 vehicles.[77][78] In March 2020,Lucketts Travel was purchased.[79][80]
During September 2021, it was reported that National Express had entered into talks to acquire Stagecoach Group.[81] In December 2021, a deal was agreed between the boards of the two companies: however, it was subject to both shareholder approval and regulatory scrutiny.[82][83] Having originally recommended shareholders accept the National Express offer, in March 2022, the Stagecoach board of directors withdrew its recommendation in favour of a takeover offer from aDWS managed investment fund.[84][85]
In January 2023, the coach excursion business of seven National Express Transport Solutions companies (Coliseum Coaches, Lucketts Travel, Mortons Travel, Solent Tours, Stewarts Tours, Woods Tours and Worthing Coaches) were brought together under the 'Touromo' brand. Touromo aimed to provide day trips and short breaks to destinations across the UK and Europe as one combined brand, and National Express planned to expand the brand outside the West Midlands and South East England to operate across the United Kingdom.[86][87] Six months later, however, it was announced that Touromo was to cease operations and that National Express Transport Solutions was to cease offering day trips and holiday excursions in October 2023.[88]
In June 2023, National Express changed its name to Mobico Group.[89][90]
In August 2024, Mobico announced that they had begun the process of selling its North American school bus division, includingDurham School Services, in order to reduce its debt.[4]
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National Express' operations are summarised below:[91]
The bus and coach services operated by the group are:
In July 2023, National Express announced they would be ceasing the operation of coach tours having only launched the Touromo brand of coach tours in January the same year.[94]
National Express Germany operates a number of train services in the German state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia.[95]
Following the financial difficulties of Abellio GmbH, National Express was awarded an emergency contract to operate further services in North Rhine-Westphalia from February 2022 to run for two years.[96]
ALSA Rail operatesfreight trains andheritage railways in Spain.[97]
In February 2015, the Bahrain Public Transport Company in which National Express holds a 50% shareholding commenced operating a 10-year concession inBahrain.[104]
In May 2009, National Express sold some of its bus operations toAbellio:
In December 2020, National Express sold itsXplore Dundee business toMcGill's Bus Services.[105]
Rail franchises formerly operated:
National Express had a 17.5% shareholding inLondon & Continental Railways (L&CR) from its formation in September 1994 until it was nationalised by theGovernment of the United Kingdom in 2009. L&CR was responsible for building theHigh Speed 1 project. National Express also held a 40% stake in the Inter-Capital and Regional Rail consortium which held the management contract for the UK arm of theEurostar operation, L&CR's subsidiaryEurostar International from 1998 to 2010.[109][110]
In the 1990s, National Express moved into the privatisation of airports, purchasingEast Midlands,Bournemouth, andHumberside Airports. In a move to concentrate on bus and rail provision, Humberside was sold toManchester Airports Group in 1999 followed by Bournemouth and East Midlands in February 2001.[111][112]
Until November 2007, the group also operatedStewart International Airport inNew Windsor, New York. However, the lease was sold to the publicPort Authority of New York and New Jersey.[113]
Australian bus companies previously operated:
In 1999, the Group gained the Australian franchisesM>Train,M>Tram andV/Line Passenger, following the privatisation of rail and tram services by theGovernment of Victoria. After incurring large losses and being unable to renegotiate the franchise contracts, the operations were handed back to the State Government. M>Train was re-let toConnex and M>Tram toTransdev. V/Line became a government-owned corporation.[114]
Media related toNational Express Group at Wikimedia Commons
Majorpublic transport companies based inEngland | ||
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| Intercity buses | ||
