Norfolk Green sold to Stagecoach, with a statement from stagecoach.

[overthewater]

This Blog is reporting Norfolk Green has been sold to Stagecoach.

http://andysbusblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/breaking-news-norfolk-green-sold-to.html



http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolk...ional_giant_stagecoach_bus_holdings_1_3119485

Norfolk Green today announced its sale to Stagecoach Bus Holdings - ending its 19 years of independence since being set up in 1994.

The company provides local bus services to west and north Norfolk, north Cambridgeshire and south Lincolnshire, employs more than 160 people and operates over 70 buses which carried more than four-and-a-half million passengers last year.

Managing director Ben Colson said the decision was “not taken easily”, and added that Norfolk Green went into new hands “in good shape”.

The surprise sale comes after a tough period for Norfolk Green, which has been struggling to keep on the road its much-lauded Coasthopper Service, which runs along the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is cherished by locals and tourists.

In September, Norfolk County Council announced plans to cut its £225,000-a-year Coasthopper subsidy by £75,000 in each of the next two years - a move that Mr Colson said could spell the end of the service.

After being formed in 1994, Norfolk Green was bought by its existing owner two years later and during the next 17 years it grew from three buses to the number it runs today.

It has won countless awards, including The Mayor’s Award for Business Achievement in 2007, the UK Bus Operator of the Year award in 2010 (the only time that a small operator has won it) and last month the Independent Operator of the Year award.


Mr Colson said “Our decision to sell was not taken easily but it follows a period of ill health during the summer and early autumn. Over the years we have built a strong brand in the area with a much larger network of bus routes than was here in 1996, attracted new customers to using the bus, and we have increased employment.

“The company goes forward into new hands in good shape, and will benefit from being owned by a major transport company.”

Robert Montgomery, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “The acquisition will allow us to expand our operations in the east of England, where we have achieved good passenger growth by focusing on good value fares, investing in our networks and delivering punctual and reliable services.

“Our people are central to our growth plans and we are delighted to welcome our new employees to the business.”

North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham greeted the news with cautious optimism.

He said: “I would like to give a very warm welcome to Stagecoach, who are a world class company with a really good reputation across the country and have just announced that they are buying Norfolk Green. They are obviously buying a local success story and I do believe that they will use their strength and expertise to reinforce this success so that Norfolk Green carries on serving our community.”

“Obviously I am very sad that Ben Colson has decided for perfectly understandable reasons that it is now time for him to move on. Having set the company up from scratch, he has turned it into an iconic local brand with an incredibly loyal workforce who have always put the customer first.

“Hopefully Norfolk Green will really benefit from having this new world class parent company, and I am going to be having early talks with them to discuss what I hope will be a firm ongoing commitment to key local services, including the Coasthopper.”

http://www.stagecoach.com/media/news-releases/2013/2013-12-18.aspx

ACQUISITION OF NORFOLK GREEN BUS OPERATIONS

18 Dec 2013

Stagecoach Group plc ("Stagecoach") is pleased to announce that Stagecoach Bus Holdings Ltd has completed the acquisition of Go West Travel Ltd, trading as Norfolk Green, an independent bus operator in the east of England.

Norfolk Green, which was last month named Independent Bus Operator of the Year, operates commercial, tendered and school bus services, employing more than 160 people.

The company operates around 70 buses and carries around 4.6million passengers a year on a network covering Norfolk, and parts of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.

The acquisition will complement Stagecoach's existing successful bus operations in the east of England, where it already operates around 360 buses and employs 950 staff.

The business has leased depot and bus station facilities in King's Lynn, as well as a number of small out-station facilities on short-term let arrangements.

Robert Montgomery, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: "Norfolk Green is an award-winning, high-quality bus operator. The business is well-run and has been successful in attracting more people to the benefits of bus travel

"The acquisition will allow us to expand our operations in the east of England, where we have achieved good passenger growth by focusing on good value fares, investing in our networks and delivering punctual and reliable services.

"Our people are central to our growth plans and we are delighted to welcome our new employees to the business."

Norfolk Green, which the present owners bought in 1996 with three coaches, has become available for purchase due to the retirement following ill health of main shareholder Ben Colson. The operation will be run separately, managed by Gary Nolan Regional Director North, Stagecoach UK Bus.

Ben Colson said: "We have built a strong brand in the area with a larger network of bus routes than was here in 1996, attracted new customers to using the bus and increased employment. The company goes forward into new hands in good shape, and will benefit from being owned by a major transport company."

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Analysts
Ross Paterson, Finance Director 01738 442111
Bruce Dingwall, Group Financial Controller 01738 442111

Media
Steven Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications
01738 442111

 

[chubs]

so RIP Anglian, Konnect and now Norfolk Green as we knew it.

Bad times to come I reckon.

 

[F Great Eastern]

Apparently they are looking to buy the X1 from First, or if they cannot, to run against it.

If that does happen, surely that just shows how weak First are, since if you sell your flagship service to your biggest rival in the country despite the fact you've just invested heavily in it, it basically shows a sign of weakness and gives the green light for Stagecoach to exploit the vunerable position of First in other areas of the country?

Honestly I think First have to resist selling no matter how good the offer may be, since it sends out all the wrong signals to the competition.

 

[Robertj21a]

Leaves Sanders a bit vulnerable.

Robert

 

[Aictos]

That's going to impact on FCC as they have a agreement in place with Norfolk Green to allow employees of both companies to travel for free on each other's services, will Stagecoach honour this agreement or will it go up in smoke?

 

[Surreyman]

Apparently they are looking to buy the X1 from First, or if they cannot, to run against it.

If that does happen, surely that just shows how weak First are, since if you sell your flagship service to your biggest rival in the country despite the fact you've just invested heavily in it, it basically shows a sign of weakness and gives the green light for Stagecoach to exploit the vunerable position of First in other areas of the country?

Honestly I think First have to resist selling no matter how good the offer may be, since it sends out all the wrong signals to the competition.

Best news in a long time, either First 'sell' the route to Stagecoach or Stagecoach start directly competing, (Depots in Peterborough and now Kings Lynn).
I suspect Stagecoach may keep the Norfolk Green identity.
Its interesting that First gave up the Torquay to Plymouth routes to Stagecoach recently.
Anything which sees First getting smaller, has to be a good thing.

 

[306024]

Used Norfolk Green for the first time last Saturday. Was impressed, friendly drivers and a modern double decker, and spot on time.

 

[Robertj21a]

Apparently they are looking to buy the X1 from First, or if they cannot, to run against it.

If that does happen, surely that just shows how weak First are, since if you sell your flagship service to your biggest rival in the country despite the fact you've just invested heavily in it, it basically shows a sign of weakness and gives the green light for Stagecoach to exploit the vunerable position of First in other areas of the country?

Honestly I think First have to resist selling no matter how good the offer may be, since it sends out all the wrong signals to the competition.

.

Not sure where this rumour has come from but if I was First I'd sell the X1 to Stagecoach.........not much point in fighting the inevitable !

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

.

Not sure where this rumour has come from but if I was First I'd sell the X1 to Stagecoach.........not much point in fighting the inevitable !

Now that's a telling line...there's been nothing to say that Norfolk Green were going to sell to Stagecoach but as soon as that's announced, then there's a rumour about them buying the X1...........

I'd also be very circumspect about drawing parallels with the situation with the X80/X81 in Devon; there are a lot more differences than parallels. The X1 has benefitted from regular new bus intake (including some in the last couple of months). However, the X80/X81 was largely operated by a rag tag collection of Tridents (ex Bristol and ex London - all about 1998/200 vintage) of shocking condition. The 3x08 ex Bude Enviros were also joined by K reg Olympians plus the odd Dart. Hardly a flagship route!!

The other consideration was that PCB were also about to compete on a number of services, and were already competing between Ivybridge and Plymouth. Rather than have two fights, it made more sense to cede the X80/X81 to Stagecoach.

 

[tbtc]

Excuse my ignorance, but can one operator "sell" a route to another?

Obviously there's nothing stopping Stagecoach competing with a First route, and then First deciding to withdraw, leaving Stagecoach as the only operator, as happened in Devon, but have commercial routes been "bought" (without the competition people getting their knickers in a twist)?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Excuse my ignorance, but can one operator "sell" a route to another?

Obviously there's nothing stopping Stagecoach competing with a First route, and then First deciding to withdraw, leaving Stagecoach as the only operator, as happened in Devon, but have commercial routes been "bought" (without the competition people getting their knickers in a twist)?

It depends what you mean by "bought". What more often has happened is that agreements have been reached for one party to deregister and the other to continue/register that service.

However, if you're looking at one area where operations were sold without properties and fleet then there's always Bishop Auckland where Go North East sold only their operations (excluding the main 724 service to Newcastle) to Arriva in 2006.

A more specialist would be United selling their Ripon operations to Harrogate and District. The depot and bus station were not included and nor was the fleet. In fact, within a year, many of the services had been surrendered (e.g. local services, marginal tenders). The real reason for the purchase was that United had one of the five vehicles allocated to the 36 as well as an express from Ripon to Harrogate. In short, Harrogate and District just wanted the 36 for themselves...but to get it, they had to buy all the operations.

 

[Robertj21a]

Might be more a case of First not really wanting to maintain an outpost (Kings Lynn) just so that they can operate even further out of their 'natural' area, to Peterborough. Since the whole Kings Lynn/Peterborough area will be Stagecoach in future it already looks a bit unlikely that First will want to operate right through to Peterborough on just one route, so far out of their main operating area.

Robert

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Might be more a case of First not really wanting to maintain an outpost (Kings Lynn) just so that they can operate even further out of their 'natural' area, to Peterborough. Since the whole Kings Lynn/Peterborough area will be Stagecoach in future it already looks a bit unlikely that First will want to operate right through to Peterborough on just one route, so far out of their main operating area.

Robert

That was probably another reason for the retreat from the X80/X81. However, the depot at Kings Lynn is still operated, and the reasons you cite about it being on a limb were as true when they sold the rest of the ops a few years ago as now. And of course, if they merely transferred the X1 to Stagecoach, you get the exact situation in reverse with a Stagecoach service extending far into FEC territory.

I ask again.....where's this rumour come from? I'm still waiting for Go Ahead to buy half of First's Scotland operations and McGills, and after a year of waiting, I'm getting impatient for that to happen

 

[overthewater]

Like the rest of us

I can't see Stagecoach being allowed to acquire the X1 from First, as it would give them total control in the King Lynn. The CC nor OFT would like that.

 

[robertclark125]

Well, not acquire, but what if First withdrew, and stagecoach registered a new X1, and offered to take on the staff affected? Commercial decision, nothing the OFT can do then.

Though, it's unlikely that the X1 would go to Stagecoach, given the fact new double deckers have just appeared on it.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Well, not acquire, but what if First withdrew, and stagecoach registered a new X1, and offered to take on the staff affected? Commercial decision, nothing the OFT can do then.

Though, it's unlikely that the X1 would go to Stagecoach, given the fact new double deckers have just appeared on it.

Not true. The OFT can most certainly act, and can specify that frequencies and fares be set, or even order divestment.

 

[MK Tom]

This creates a continuous Stagecoach network stretching from Hereford to Cromer.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

This creates a continuous Stagecoach network stretching from Hereford to Cromer.

No it doesn't. It creates one from Cromer to Porthcawl.

Hereford to Merthyr - X4
Merthyr to Aberdare - 9
Aberdare to Porthcawl - 172

 

[MK Tom]

No it doesn't.

Yes it does. It just also:

Creates one from Cromer to Porthcawl.

Hereford to Merthyr - X4
Merthyr to Aberdare - 9
Aberdare to Porthcawl - 172

Which is even cooler. Thanks for that.

 

[burns20]

Or even Newtown on the T4 from Merthyr?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Or even Newtown on the T4 from Merthyr?

If only there was a handy Trowbridge to Tiverton link....you could get to Cornwall

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

To return to the company referred to in the thread title, can I ask how popular are the Coasthopper services that Norfolk Green ran and what time periods of the year do they run ?

 

[burns20]

Trowbridge to Yeovil would be easier

Or even Newtown on the T4 from Merthyr?

If only there was a handy Trowbridge to Tiverton link....you could get to Cornwall

 

[Robertj21a]

To return to the company referred to in the thread title, can I ask how popular are the Coasthopper services that Norfolk Green ran and what time periods of the year do they run ?

Very popular and run all year round.

Robert

 

[chubs]

In the summer coasthopper is often full (seated and standing).

 

[burns20]

Going to try and plan a trip using Norfolk Green and Stagecoach only with a few trains added in at the end of March. Routing so far;

MONDAY

Liverpool Lime Street 0804
Birmingham New Street 0947

Birmingham New Street 1022
Ely 1252

absolutEly! 1258-1328

Ely 1351
Kings Lynn 1422

11 Kings Lynn 1440
Hunstanton 1540

CH Hunstanton 1612
Sheringham 1745

GA Sheringham 1749
Norwich 1847

TUESDAY

X29 Norwich 0920
Fakenham 1029

X8 Fakenham 1038
Kings Lynn 1125

46 Kings Lynn 1205
March 1327

33 March 1345
Peterborough 1500

24 Peterborough 1605
Thrapston 1707

X46 Thrapston 1715
Northampton 1915

WEDNESDAY

8 Northampton 0816
Brackley 0934

500 Brackley 0940
Banbury 1015

488 Banbury 1105
Chipping Norton 1156

X9 Chipping Norton 1208
Witney 1248

S1 Witney 1250
Carterton 1315

64 Carterton 1445
Swindon 1537

51 Swindon 1615
Cheltenham 1755

To be continued

 

[Sandy Drew]

This acquisition was cleared by the OFT yesterday.

Incidentally, yesterday was also the last day of the Office of Fair Trading AND the Competition Commission.

Their work in this area now covered by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

 

[robertclark125]

Slightly off topic, but I wonder if the CMA will take a less stringent attitude to bus takeovers than what the OFT and CC did in their latter days. Things like Rock Ferry and Chester to Stagecoach, Redditch and Kiiderminster to Rotala should never have needed to be looked at.

Anyway, good news that the right decision has been made, and now that folk know where they stand, Stagecoach can get on with the job of continuing the Norfolk Green tradition.

 

[Ant158]

Wonder if Stagecoach might use the green hybrid version of the livery when they take over?

 

[transportphoto]

Wonder if Stagecoach might use the green hybrid version of the livery when they take over?

They've already taken over... the only things that have changed to the outside of the buses are words to the effect of 'Part of the Stagecoach Group' being added and the fleet numbers have been brought into line with National Stagecoach fleet numbering.