FirstGroup has signed an agreement to acquire York Pullman Bus Company, a business comprising five well-established coach services brands.
York Pullman has a strong presence in regional and adjacent services operations in York and surrounding towns in North Yorkshire.
It provides home-to-school and college contracted services and private hire operations including rail replacement services, and operates a small number of local bus routes on behalf of several local authorities, complementary to the operations of First Bus in York.
It has a mixed fleet of more than 130 vehicles with varying passenger capacity which has enabled it to build a broad range of customers. For the year ended 31 December 2022, York Pullman reported revenues of c.£10m and EBIT of c.£2m.
Tom James, Managing Director of York Pullman, will remain with the company as Managing Director and continue to run it on a standalone basis, as well as contributing to the development of the First Bus coach services growth strategy, with synergy benefits and support from the First Bus executive team.
Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer, said: “A key pillar of our strategy is to grow and diversify our portfolio. The acquisition of York Pullman, a long-established, high-performing business fits well with our strategy as it will both enhance the First Bus operational footprint in North Yorkshire and expand our adjacent services business, where we are looking to grow our presence.”
