Three former bus drivers have acquired ownership of Yellow Buses for an undisclosed sum.
Yellow Buses is now back under local ownership after its management team bought the company from French owners RATP Dev for an undisclosed sum.
David Squire, managing Director; Simon Newport, Commercial Director and Phil Pannell, Service Delivery Director, will now be equal shareholders in Bournemouth Transport Limited (BTL).
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- David Squire, Managing Director, Yellow Buses
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- Phil Pannell, Service Delivery Director
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- Simon Newport, Commercial Director, Yellow Buses
BTL trades under the names Yellow Buses and Yellow Coaches. Also included in this sale is Vintage Yellow Buses, an associated, non-trading company.
David Squire, Managing Director of Yellow Buses, said: “This puts the local management team firmly in the driving seat. We are now masters of our own destiny.
“We have injected fresh capital into the company and will be looking to invest in our staff, fleet and systems going forward.
“We are over 18 months into the plan that we started in 2018 and are in a strong place with passenger growth, improved income and a booming coach operation.”
The management buyout (MBO) comes after a decision by RATP Dev to review its operations in the UK.
In future, the company will now focus on its franchise operations in London, Bath and the North West.
Laurence Batlle, RATP Dev’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Under the leadership of David Squire and his team, Bournemouth Transport has undergone major transformation.
“The agreement will ensure the company has local ownership and management. We are delighted that we can enable Bournemouth Transport Ltd and its employees to pursue a promising way forward and wish them every success.”
Yellow Buses operates a fleet of 140 buses and 16 coaches with more than 410 staff. The company carries just short of 15 million passengers a year and operate vehicles nearly five million miles across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and East Dorset area.