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RE: First Manchester - SandyDrew - 01/08/2013 09:24
Not sure if everyone has seen the statement about the acquisition of Finglands bus services... http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/greater_manchester/travel_news/news_initiatives/?item=12311&conf=0
Apologies if double posted...
Thursday 01 August 2013
Firstgroup PLC is pleased to announce that First Manchester Limited, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of FirstGroup, has agreed to acquire the Manchester bus business from Finglands Coachways Limited for £50,000.
The acquisition of Finglands, which operates a number of commercial bus services and school contracts to the South and East of Manchester, is subject to Office of Fair Trading (OFT) clearance and, if approved, is expected to be completed during autumn this year.
The Finglands business saw unaudited revenues of £3.8m for the year ending December 2012.
The acquisition includes the lease of the existing depot in Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, existing service registrations and the transfer of approximately 100 staff. The fleet of 41 vehicles would be excluded from the sale although some may be used in the short-term to meet current service commitments. The sale excludes Finglands coach business.
The acquisition allows First Manchester to expand its successful bus operations in the Greater Manchester region and to grow the number of passengers on its buses.
First Manchester currently operates around 700 buses and employs 2000 staff. In the past 12 months First has lowered a number of its fares in the Greater Manchester region by around 30% and saw passenger volume growth of around 8% in the three months between April and June.
The Finglands operations would become part of First Manchester, which is led by Regional Managing Director Dave Alexander.
Dave Alexander, Regional Managing Director for First in the North of England, said: "This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to Greater Manchester and represents an excellent opportunity to further grow bus passenger volumes. It reflects our strategy of focusing on those areas that offer the greatest potential for growth and will allow us to improve bus networks for the communities we serve.
"We are looking forward, subject to OFT clearance, to welcoming our new colleagues to FirstGroup."
RE: First Manchester - jimbo - 01/08/2013 09:46
50k seems a very low price... Either finglands are also in a lot of debt or profit by 5k/year..
RE: First Manchester - YSV-205 - 01/08/2013 10:27
(01/08/2013 09:46)jimbo Wrote: 50k seems a very low price... Either finglands are also in a lot of debt or profit by 5k/year..
I agree Jimbo. It's very "cheap". One can pay more than that for an Audi Q7 car !!!!
RE: First Manchester - SandyDrew - 01/08/2013 10:37
(01/08/2013 10:27)YSV-205 Wrote:(01/08/2013 09:46)jimbo Wrote: 50k seems a very low price... Either finglands are also in a lot of debt or profit by 5k/year..
I agree Jimbo. It's very "cheap". One can pay more than that for an Audi Q7 car !!!!
It mentions not including the fleet, and using the leased depot - so not much by way of assets included. Just the service registrations.
Which these days isn't that much...
19 Altrincham to Sale every 15 mins
41 Manchester to Sale every 10 mins
42 Manchester to East Didsbury every 20 mins
99 Manchester to Sale Hourly (tendered)
Quite a few schools though
Missed any?
RE: First Manchester - jimbo - 01/08/2013 11:08
Uni runs make a lot during term time
RE: First Manchester - YSV-205 - 01/08/2013 12:17
(01/08/2013 10:37)SandyDrew Wrote:(01/08/2013 10:27)YSV-205 Wrote:(01/08/2013 09:46)jimbo Wrote: 50k seems a very low price... Either finglands are also in a lot of debt or profit by 5k/year..
I agree Jimbo. It's very "cheap". One can pay more than that for an Audi Q7 car !!!!
It mentions not including the fleet, and using the leased depot - so not much by way of assets included. Just the service registrations.
Which these days isn't that much...
19 Altrincham to Sale every 15 mins
41 Manchester to Sale every 10 mins
42 Manchester to East Didsbury every 20 mins
99 Manchester to Sale Hourly (tendered)
Quite a few schools though
Missed any?
Well I suppose that's true SandyDrew. Your question about forgetting any, the 157 is also operated by Finglands in the evenings.
RE: First Manchester - Southernsofty - 01/08/2013 12:57
(01/08/2013 10:37)SandyDrew Wrote:Wouldn't it be great if the Oft blocked it?(01/08/2013 10:27)YSV-205 Wrote:(01/08/2013 09:46)jimbo Wrote: 50k seems a very low price... Either finglands are also in a lot of debt or profit by 5k/year..
I agree Jimbo. It's very "cheap". One can pay more than that for an Audi Q7 car !!!!
It mentions not including the fleet, and using the leased depot - so not much by way of assets included. Just the service registrations.
Which these days isn't that much...
19 Altrincham to Sale every 15 mins
41 Manchester to Sale every 10 mins
42 Manchester to East Didsbury every 20 mins
99 Manchester to Sale Hourly (tendered)
Quite a few schools though
Missed any?
One in the eye for First.
RE: First Manchester - jimbo - 01/08/2013 13:02
Well it would be better than stagecoach buying them... But saying that... Eyms own finglands who are psrt owned by the guy who owns stagecoach... Meh at the end of the day id rather see MCT buy finglands...
RE: First Manchester - SF07 - 01/08/2013 13:05
Looks like this is First's response to Stagecoach taking over Bluebird. Should it be cleared in time, it'll set First up nicely for the uni student market in the autumn.
RE: First Manchester - Polo Mint - 01/08/2013 14:28
I must admit I did not expect this at all, First seem to have been selling depots and not buying them.
Finglands seem to have a different business model than First, they seem to be cheep and cheerful offering low fares to students with old Olympians. A quick look on their website confirms this with very affordable £3.40 Daysavers. Hopefully First can maintain the nice little network without over charging people and cutting services.
The Finglands fleet is old except a few Enviro300/ B9 Gemini's. I wonder if First will ship in some new stock to re-fleet them.
How big is the Rusholme depot? Maybe route 18/53 or other services could be moved there in the future.
Do you think they regretted selling Wigan?