FirstGroup
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FirstGroup operates bus, coach, rail & tram services in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada & Ireland
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| Public company | |
| Traded as | : |
| Industry | Transport |
| Founded | April 1995 |
| Headquarters | Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom |
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Area served
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United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Ireland |
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Key people
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Wolfhart Hauser Chairman Tim O'Toole, Chief Executive |
| Products | Bus, coach, rail, tram & yellow school bus services |
| Revenue | £5.2 billion (March 2016) |
| £246 million (March 2016) | |
| £96 million (March 2016) | |
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Number of employees
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110,000 (March 2016) |
| Website | www |
FirstGroup is a British transport group, registered and operating in the United Kingdom. The company also operates transport services in Ireland, Canada and the United States. It is listed on the and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
FirstGroup originated from the deregulation of bus services in the United Kingdom in 1986, whereby private companies purchased nationalised and municipal bus operators.
In September 1986 the Somerset based services of the Bristol Omnibus Company that were rebranded in 1985 as Badgerline were purchased by a management buyout. As Badgerline Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing other formerly nationalised bus companies in England and Wales.
In January 1989 Grampian Regional Transport, the bus operator in Aberdeen owned by Grampian Regional Council, was privatised in a management buyout led by its then general manager Moir Lockhead. As GRT Bus Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing six former nationalised bus companies in England and Scotland.
In April 1995 FirstBus was formed through the merger of the Badgerline and GRT Bus Groups, with fleets in England, Wales and Scotland. Aberdeen was selected as the headquarters.
At the time of the merger, FirstBus had 5,600 buses, 4,000 of which came from Badgerline. Badgerline's Trevor Smallwood became chairman of FirstBus, while GRT head Moir Lockhead became deputy chairman and chief executive.
FirstBus continued the policy of growth by acquisition acquiring former council owned operations and companies formerly owned by English, Welsh and Scottish nationalised operators. FirstBus went on to acquire larger urban metropolitan operators by taking advantage of the privatisation of the PTE bus operations and the privatisation of London bus services. FirstBus acquired GM Buses North in Manchester and Strathclyde Buses in Glasgow in 1996, Mainline in South Yorkshire and CentreWest in London in 1997, and Capital Citybus in London in 1998.
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