Transport giant FirstGroup buys coach firm Anderson Travel
Transport giant FirstGroup has bought London coach firm Anderson Travel to boost its First Bus business.
The deal – for an undisclosed sum – will see FirstGroup add around 40 coaches operating in central London and at Heathrow Airport across the mini coach, contracted school, private hire and tour services markets.
Anderson Travel founder and majority owner Mark Anderson will continue to head up the day-to-day operations of the business through the firm’s integration with First Bus.
It adds to other recent acquisitions by FirstGroup in the coach market.
FirstGroup chief executive Graham Sutherland said: “We will continue to identify and assess opportunities to diversify and grow.”
Anderson Travel runs its coaches services in and around London from a depot near Tower Bridge in central London and a new, smaller depot near Heathrow Airport. It made underlying earnings of around £1m in the year to June 2023 on revenues of £7.3m.