Nice move BB.

Tim O'Toole, Chief Executive of First Group, was just on radio 4 - and he sounds like he lives up to his surname!

lol

"Tim O'Toole, Chief Executive of First Group, was just on radio 4 - and he sounds like he lives up to his surname!"

Yes Skinny, He did sound a bit of a "Gun Nutter from across the water".. sort of bloke! didn't he? -):

Well the travelling was certainly better than the arrival, good exit bb.
2517

Thank you 2517, makes a change for something to go right. Just need halfords to pick up a bit more now.,.

aarrrggghhh You promised not to mention them.
2517

I know the day isn't over, but that looks like a bearish engulfing candle!

Bearish engulfing candle!

Yes Skinny and with volume. Suggests the market believes FGP's bid was a suicide bid until proven otherwise. Heard on the news tonight FGP will have to grow that business at 10% per annum to make a return. Apparently they have identified spare capacity Virgin failed to spot. Branson failed to spot a money making opportunity?? I'll have to think about that!

Let us run West Coast for free, says Branson

Entrepreneur makes temporary offer to run the West Coast line for free to buy time for MPs’ inquiry into controversial decision to hand the franchise to FirstGroup.

Statement re InterCity West Coast Rail Franchise

We understand that Virgin Rail Ltd a subsidiary of Virgin Rail Group, the joint
venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach Group plc, has brought a legal
challenge against the Department for Transport in relation to the recent award
of the InterCity West Coast rail franchise to FirstGroup.

We have every confidence in the DfT's process which is rigorous, detailed and
fair and in which bids are thoroughly tested. There has been no complaint about
the process, which was carefully described in advance, until Virgin Rail Group
had lost commercially.

Our plans for the new InterCity West Coast franchise include faster journeys,
new trains, more seats and more direct services from London than currently on
offer. There will be improved WiFi, better catering, refurbished stations and
Standard Anytime Fares will be reduced by 15% on average within the first two
years. We look forward to welcoming passengers to their new and exciting
InterCity West Coast service in December and creating a better railway for all.

Our focus is to ensure a smooth transition with continuity for staff and
passengers alike. We want to get on with delivering the many benefits and
improvements we are offering without delay or disruption. We will continue to
prepare for a successful start up of the new franchise on 9 December 2012.

Trading Statement

Commenting, Tim O'Toole, Chief Executive said:

"I am pleased to report overall trading for the first half of the year is in
line with our expectations. With a fundamentally strong and diverse portfolio
of operations we are focused on driving a greater performance and delivering
improved growth and returns. While there is significant work to do we are
satisfied with the progress of the actions we have taken, though we remain
mindful of the uncertain economic backdrop.

"We have leading positions in a sector that is a key enabler of economic growth
and we are confident that the actions we are taking will strengthen the
business for the future. Therefore, reflecting its longer term view, the Board
remains committed to its current policy of dividend growth of 7.0% through to
the end of the financial year 2012/13."

This should put the cat amongst the pigeons today :-

Government scraps $9 billion West Coast rail deal

LONDON | Wed Oct 3, 2012 5:10am BST

(Reuters) - Britain scrapped on Wednesday a $9 billion (5.5 billion pounds) deal that had awarded the West Coast rail line to FirstGroup Plc, citing flaws in the government's figures, just a day after the company had said it was prepared to take over the key mainline train service this year.

FirstGroup in August won the 13-year deal for the London-to-Scotland line with a bid of around 6 billion pounds, but the decision was challenged by Virgin Trains, a joint venture between high-profile billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Stagecoach.

Statement re: InterCity West Coast Franchise Award

Personally think this is a blessing in disguise

Joe - yes its ironic!

FirstGroup runs a number of bus and rail services across the UK.

Shares in FirstGroup fell recently on the news that it might lose the West Coast rail franchise (it was expected to start running the franchise in December). For this reason, forecasts on FirstGroup's future profitability are not reliable.

It appears, however, that this possible loss is no fault of FirstGroup's. The question for investors is what FirstGroup's long-term profitability will be without the West Coast operations.

Looking back, FirstGroup delivered an operating profit of £448m for 2012. This translated to 31.2p of earnings per share (eps) and a dividend of 23.7p. That equals a historic price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio and yield of 7.8 and 9.8% respectively.

Debts at FirstGroup are high in relation to the company's market cap. However, this type of business typically delivers reliable cash flows and faces little competition. The recent kerfuffle may be an excellent opportunity to grab a high-yielding transport operator at a temporarily depressed price.