25th Mar 2026 11:16
(Alliance News) - Mobico Group PLC on Wednesday announced it has promoted Francisco Iglesias to chief executive officer from chief operating officer.
Iglesias has been COO since February last year and has been CEO of the Alsa division of the Birmingham, England-based transportation company since 2016.
Alsa is the Madrid-based Spanish subsidiary of Mobico, which also owns National Express in the UK. Alsa operates bus and coach service across European countries and has operations in Morocco. Alsa was Mobico's fastest growing division in 2025 thanks to a rise in passenger figures.
Iglesias will take up the role on April 1, with Mobico's current executive chair, Phil White, to revert to non-executive chair from October 1. White moved to executive chair from chair designate last April after Ignacio Garat departed immediately as CEO.
Iglesias joined Alsa in 1991, with the company praising the company's growth under his leadership, saying that it has "established itself as the leading Spanish road passenger transport business".
Alsa also diversified from purely long-haul services to regional, urban, and bus transport services, as well as expanding internationally including in Asia. However, operations in Asia and South America were retained by the original owners, the Cosman family, when Mobico took control of the company by acquiring a majority stake in 2005.
"As [chief operating officer], [Iglesias] has led initiatives to bring best practice from Alsa to the wider group and is overseeing the integration of UK Coach into Alsa. Alongside his role as group [chief executive officer], Paco will continue to oversee Alsa, supported by a strong divisional leadership team," Mobico said.
The appointment comes amid a sluggish time for the company. White returned to head the business last year, following a series of profit warnings that led to Garat stepping down as CEO. White previously led National Express from 1996 to 2006.
In its full-year results for 2025 released last month, Mobico reported revenue rising by 5.4% to GBP2.74 billion from GBP2.60 billion in 2024, but its pretax loss widening to GBP58.5 million from GBP46.2 million.
"Since my appointment as executive chair some 12 months ago, meaningful progress has been made to stabilise the business," White said.
"[Iglesias] is the ideal candidate to lead the business in its next chapter of growth and to ensure the value inherent in the group's portfolio is better reflected," he added.
Iglesias said there is tangible progress towards strengthening and simplifying Mobico.
"My priority as [chief executive office] will be to build on that momentum, delivering first class customer service while improving our operational performance and maintaining our financial discipline," he added.
Mobico shares were down 0.1% to 19.80 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
By Martin Miraglia, Alliance News reporter
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