FirstGroup considers £1.2bn takeover bid from private equity I Squared May 26, 2022 Transport giant FirstGroup has announced it was considering a £1.2bn takeover bid from US private equity I Squared. FirstGroup told investors it was currently considering a 118p per share cash offer after receiving the firm’s latest unsolicited bid yesterday. “The board of FirstGroup notes the recent share price movement,” the group said in a note [...]
FirstGroup snatches former telecoms boss for chief executive role April 20, 2022 Former telecoms boss Graham Sutherland was appointed chief executive of FirstGroup, the transport colossus announced today. The new boss will assume office from 16 May. Sutherland – who was previously at the helm of LSE-listed telecommunications company KCOM from 2018 until its sale to an infrastructure fund – will succeed Matthew Gregory, who stepped down [...]
Megabus to double service at Christmas December 9, 2021 Megabus will double its service to ensure customers can see their families over Christmas. The bus operator has said it will operate over 9,000 miles on 25 December, reaching 48,000 miles worth of trips on Boxing Day. Across the whole festive period, Megabus coaches will travel over half a million miles around the country. “After [...]
FirstGroup profits tremble as restrictions cast uncertainty over recovery pace December 9, 2021 FirstGroup has registered a decrease in profits as the new Covid restrictions put into question the group’s recovery pace. In the six months ended 30 September, FirstGroup’s profits from continuing operations went down 4 per cent, from £55.7m to £51.8m. The group’s shares also suffered a blow, going down from yesterday’s opening price of 102.60p [...]
Off to Scotland for £15: Lumo launches London-Edinburgh service October 21, 2021 Low-cost rail service Lumo inaugurated this morning its first London to Edinburgh service, with an inaugural train departing at 10.45am from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley. Passenger operations will officially begin on 25 October and will aim to create 13 million additional passengers in the next decade. With prices starting from £14.90, Lumo’s had [...]
FirstGroup pockets £125m as it sells Greyhound Lines to rail group FlixMobility October 21, 2021 Transport firm FirstGroup has agreed the sale of its US long-distance coaches business Greyhound Lines to European coach and rail group FlixMobility for £125m. The deal comes as part of FirstGroup’s move to focus on its UK transport business. The firm said it will retain Greyhound properties, worth around £128m and lease them back to [...]
First Group shares up as bus firm confirms £500m payout September 13, 2021 Shares in transport operator First Group rose 4.0 per cent this morning as the firm confirmed it would return £500m to shareholders through a tender process. In a statement ahead of today’s AGM, the FTSE 250 firm said that it was trading in line with expectations for the year so far. It said that bus [...]
First Group boss to step down amid growing shareholder pressure July 27, 2021 First Group’s chief executive Matthew Gregory has this morning announced he will leave the company after the firm’s AGM, a day after the company’s biggest shareholder demanded his resignation. The announcement came as the FTSE 250 transport operator announced that its profit had shrunk about a fifth over the last financial year. Gregory’s resignation comes [...]
Coast Capital launches bid to oust First Group boss July 26, 2021 Coast Capital has this morning reignited its ongoing battle with First Group by calling for the resignation of the FTSE 250 firm’s chief executive Matthew Gregory, along with two other board members. The New York-based firm, which owns about 14 per cent of First Group, has been locked in a series of skirmishes with the [...]
Exclusive: First Group ‘snubs passengers’ over complaints, Liberal Democrats say July 13, 2021 The Liberal Democrats have written to the government to complain over rail operator First Group’s handling of customer complaints. Sarah Olney MP, the party’s transport spokesman, said that the FTSE 250 firm’s “track record leaves a lot to be desired”. It comes after new data from the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) showed that [...]