Fitch Credit Rating

1 July 2022

THE GO-AHEAD GROUP PLC

("GO-AHEAD" OR "THE GROUP")

FITCH CREDIT RATING

Go-Ahead is pleased to announce that Fitch Ratings has assigned the Group a first-time Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating of 'BBB-'. Simultaneously, Fitch has placed the ratings on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).

The RWN reflects the board-approved proposal for Go-Ahead to be acquired by Gerrard Investment BIDCO Ltd (BidCo), as Fitch view legal ring-fencing around the Group as limited, with potential value extraction by the new shareholders in the medium term. The RWN is to be resolved once an assessment has been made of the post-acquisition strategy and the financial policies to be pursued by the new owners.

The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of the Group is Carolyn Ferguson, Company Secretary

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

GO-AHEADGo-Ahead is a leading public transport operator, connecting communities through bus and rail services. Our purpose is to move you, and the next generation, towards a smarter and healthier planet.

We employ more than 27,000 people across our bus and rail businesses in the UK, Singapore, Ireland, Sweden, Norway and Germany. In addition to the travelling public, our customers include governments and local authorities. We are committed to tackling climate change, poor air quality and social isolation. 

BUS Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. We run a fleet of more than 6,000 buses across England and run a quarter of London's buses for Transport for London. Outside London, we serve high-density commuter markets in the North East, Greater Manchester, East Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, East Anglia, the South East and the South West of England. Internationally, we operate buses in Singapore, Ireland and Sweden. 

RAIL We operate rail franchises in the UK, Germany and Norway. In the UK, we run the country's largest passenger contract, GTR (Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Northern and Thameslink). This is managed through our 65 per cent owned subsidiary Govia, which is 35 per cent owned by Keolis. In Germany and Norway, our contracts are run exclusively by Go-Ahead.