Go-Ahead Agrees Terms To Buy Manchester Bus Depot

Press Release

19 February 2019

Go-Ahead agrees terms with FirstGroup to purchase Manchester bus depot

The Go-Ahead Group is pleased to announce it has agreed terms with FirstGroup to purchase the Queen's Road bus depot. The sale, which is due to complete in the next few months, will take Go-Ahead into Manchester, Britain's second-largest urban area, for the first time.

Go-Ahead is looking forward to working in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to deliver operational excellence, innovation and a focus on customer service. 

Go-Ahead is the largest bus operator in London and runs seven other regional bus companies in Britain, plus overseas bus services in Ireland and Singapore. Go-Ahead's regional bus services have a customer satisfaction score of 91%, the highest in the industry, according to an independent study by Transport Focus.

While the initial focus will be on ensuring a smooth transition to maintain services from day one of the new operation, Go-Ahead will invest in the people, vehicles and systems to improve the local bus services to customers. Buses from Queen's Road predominantly serve destinations in the centre, North Manchester and Salford.

David Brown, Chief Executive of Go-Ahead, said: "We look forward to contributing to Manchester's community and transport. Buses are an essential public service that help passengers get to work, access education and healthcare, for leisure and visits to relatives. We aim to deliver a comfortable, reliable service while investing to improve air quality.

"As a business that prides itself on looking after our colleagues, we hope to reinvigorate the Queen's Road depot. We also look forward to engaging in open conversations with TfGM, stakeholders and customers in the Manchester area to better understand how we can create a sustainable and thriving service."

The Queen's Road depot will operate as Go North West, while a local brand will be chosen in collaboration with customers and stakeholders.

Go-Ahead has agreed £11.17m in cash for the acquisition which includes 163 buses.

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For more information please contact:

Go-Ahead press office

[email protected]

020 7799 8999

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Michael Berkeley / Angharad Couch / Toby Moore

020 7638 9571

Notes to Editors

GO-AHEAD

Go-Ahead is a leading UK public transport operator, providing high quality services in the bus and rail sectors. Employing around 28,000 people across our businesses, over one billion passenger journeys are undertaken on our services each year. We are committed to operating our companies in a safe, socially and environmentally responsible way and are proud to have been the first FTSE250 company to be certified with FTSE4Good accreditation and have been recertified for seven consecutive years. In addition to the travelling public, our customers include the Department for Transport, Transport for London (TfL) and local authorities.

BUS

Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of around 5,000 buses, we carry over two million passengers every day. Our operations are focused on high density commuter markets. We have a strong presence in London, with around 23 per cent market share, where we provide regulated services for TfL. Outside London, we operate services in Oxford, East Anglia, Hull, the South East, Southern and north east England. Internationally we operate services in Ireland and Singapore.