Statement re Intercity East Coast Franchise Competition

27 November 2014 FIRSTGROUP PLC (`FirstGroup') Statement re: INTERCITY EAST COAST FRANCHISE COMPETITION FirstGroup notes the announcement today by the Department for Transport (`DfT')concerning the new InterCity East Coast franchise. Commenting, Tim O'Toole, FirstGroup's Chief Executive, said: "Our bid for the East Coast franchise was ambitious yet realistic. Had it beenselected, it would have created a world class railway for passengers and valuefor taxpayers with a balanced level of risk and returns for shareholders. "As one of the UK's most experienced operators, we remain committed to the railmarket but we are dissatisfied not to have secured any of the franchises thathave come up for tender in this first round. "Whilst we will retain a disciplined approach to bidding, we will continue toexamine and assess the feedback from this and previous rail bids to help shapeour approach to future competitions. "We are shortlisted to run the next TransPennine Express franchise, and arenegotiating with the DfT to extend our current operation of that route toFebruary 2016. We are also negotiating with the DfT for a direct award tooperate First Great Western, our largest franchise, through to at least March2019. "There are 12 franchise competitions still to take place and we remain focusedon reaching our desired position in rail by the end of the process, which is toachieve earnings on a par with the previous franchising cycle at an acceptablelevel of risk and return." Notes to Editors: About FirstGroup plc FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK andNorth America. With revenues of more than £6.7 billion and around 117,000employees in 2013/14, we transported around 2.5 billion passengers last year.Each of our five divisions is a leader in its field: First Student is thelargest provider of student transportation in North America with a fleet ofaround 49,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largestproviders of outsourced transit management and contracting services in the US,while Greyhound is the only national operator of scheduled intercity coachservices across North America. In the UK, FirstGroup is one of Britain'slargest bus operators running a fleet of some 6,400 buses, and we are one ofthe most experienced operators of passenger rail services in the UK, carryingmore than 330 million passengers last year, with experience of running alltypes of rail network. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world, keepingpeople moving and communities prospering. Visit our website at: www.firstgroupplc.com Contacts at FirstGroup:Rachael Borthwick, Group Corporate Communications DirectorFaisal Tabbah, Group Investor Relations ManagerStuart Butchers, Group Head of MediaTel: +44 20 7725 3354

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