Interim Management Statement

THE GO-AHEAD GROUP PLC

("Go-Ahead" or "the Group")

INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Trading in line with expectations

The Go-Ahead Group plc today announces its Interim Management Statement for the period from 2 January 2010 to 28 April 2010.

Overall, the Group's third quarter trading was in line with our expectations and we have not changed our view of the outcome for the full year to June 2010.

Bus:

Our bus operations continued to perform well in the third quarter of our financial year.

In our regulated London businesses, operated mileage increased by nearly ten per cent and revenue was up approximately three per cent (H1 2010: mileage +5.2%; revenue +7.9%), with the first half acquisition of East Thames Buses adding around seven per cent to the mileage and revenue growth. As previously indicated, like-for-like mileage and revenue growth for the quarter reflects the retention of a number of contracts with more challenging quality incentive targets and lower revenue per mile. This is expected to reduce the current full year operating profit margin in London by around one and a half percentage points compared to last year.

Revenue and passenger numbers in our deregulated bus operations increased by just over ten per cent in the quarter (H1 2010: revenue +6.2%; passenger numbers +4.7%), of which around six per cent was due to the first half acquisitions of Plymouth City Bus and Arriva's Horsham bus operations. The majority of the like-for-like growth in revenue and passenger numbers was due to an increase in fare paying passengers, with the balance from concessionary fares.

Our fuel requirements of approximately 110m litres per annum are fully hedged for the current financial year at an average of 47p per litre, fully hedged for next financial year at an average of 41p per litre and 64% hedged for the following year at an average of 40p per litre.

In North America, our 50:50 yellow school bus joint venture is making good progress for the start of our first contract which will operate just over 100 school buses in St Louis, Missouri from September 2010.

Rail:

Revenue continued to grow in line with our expectations in the rail division, which operates the Southern, Southeastern and London Midland franchises through our 65% owned subsidiary Govia.

The Southern franchise continues to perform well and in line with the bid assumptions. The rate of growth in third quarter passenger revenue was similar to the first half (H1 2010: +10.0%) and the increase in passenger numbers was slightly higher than the first half (H1 2010: +4.1%) due to good progress made with franchise initiatives such as revenue protection and marketing.

In Southeastern, third quarter growth in passenger revenue and numbers was around eight per cent and two per cent respectively (H1 2010: passenger revenue +3.9%; passenger numbers -2.0%). The additional growth of around four per cent compared to the first half of the financial year reflected the introduction of the High Speed services in December 2009 which performed well and proved popular. As previously indicated, the current economic environment means that Southeastern entered 80% revenue support from 1 April 2010.

In London Midland, growth rates in passenger revenue and numbers in the third quarter were around six per cent and two per cent respectively (H1 2010: passenger revenue +11.0%; passenger numbers +6.4%, both numbers including around four per cent due to additional services starting in December 2008). We are pleased with the improvement in the operational performance of this franchise and continue with our focus on cost control.

Overall, we continue to target a mid single digit percentage increase in passenger revenue growth for the full year in each of our three franchises.

Aviation services:

The sale of the majority of this division was completed in the period and the remaining operations, including Meteor, performed in line with our expectations.

Financing: Our cashflow remains strong and our balance sheet is robust.

In March 2010 we issued a £200m sterling bond due September 2017. This is expected to increase the current year interest charge by around £3m, including £1m of one-off costs, and further strengthens the Group by diversifying our sources of finance and extending our debt maturity profile.

Outlook:

Overall, the Group's third quarter trading was in line with our expectations and we have not changed our view of the outcome for the full year to June 2010.

We will continue to emphasise service quality, cost savings and financial discipline and remain confident in the underlying strengths of our business.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

The Go-Ahead Group

Keith Ludeman, Group Chief Executive 020 7821 3920 Nick Swift, Group Finance Director 020 7821 3922 Catherine Garland, Group Communications & 020 7821 3929 Investor Relations Manager

Citigate Dewe Rogerson 020 7638 9571 Michael Berkeley Chris Barrie Angharad Couch

Notes to editors

Go-AheadGo-Ahead is a leading UK public transport operator, providing high quality services in the bus and rail sectors. Employing around 25,000 people across the country, almost one billion passenger journeys are undertaken on our services each year. We are committed to operating our companies in a socially and environmentally responsible way and are proud to have been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard after taking action on climate change. In addition to the travelling public, our customers include the Department for Transport, Transport for London (TfL) and local authorities.

BusGo-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of over 3,500 buses, we carry, on average, around 1.6 million passengers every day. Our operations are focused on high density commuter markets. We have a strong presence in London, with around 21% market share, where we provide regulated services for TfL. We operate deregulated services in the North East, Oxford, the South East and Southern England. We recently expanded our bus operations with the acquisition of Plymouth CityBus in the UK, and have established a Yellow School Bus joint venture in North America.

RailThe rail operation, Govia, is 65% owned by Go-Ahead and 35% by Keolis. It is the busiest rail operation in the UK, responsible for nearly 30% of all UK passenger rail journeys through its three rail franchises: Southern (which includes the Gatwick Express), Southeastern and London Midland. In December 2009, Southeastern began operating the UK's first high speed domestic rail service between Kent and London, significantly reducing journey times.

For further information about our rail franchises please visit our factsheets:http://www.go-ahead.com/goahead/aboutus/our_markets/uk_rail_market/

Aviation ServicesThe Group also provides car parking services through Meteor, which includes the 'Meet & Greet' and 'Pink Elephant' brands and operates limited ground handling services at Terminal 1, Heathrow.

For further information visit www.go-ahead.com