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(Correcting where Lakeside Group is based.) FirstGroup PLC said it has acquired a Shropshire-based provider of school, B2B and B2C private transport hire services. FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer Graham Sutherland said: ‘The acquisition of Lakeside, a profitable business with excellent growth potential, builds on our recent acquisitions in First Bus. The addition to our portfolio will not only grow our position in adjacent services, but it will also allow us to enter new regions which is key to the overall First Bus strategy.’ The transport firm said the buy of Lakeside Group boosts its ‘coaching business and offers the potential to increase our presence in the West Midlands’. Lakeside has a fleet of 145 buses and coaches. Its stable includes the Lakeside Coaches, Merediths Coaches and AT Brown Coaches brands. Lakeside operates from its central, owned depot in Ellesmere, Shropshire as well as from five smaller depots in Shropshire, Telford and South Cheshire one is owned in Shrewsbury while the others are leased. ‘The majority of Lakeside’s revenue is derived from school and private hire contracts, with the remaining revenue coming from tours, a small local bus operation (under contract to Shropshire County Council) and B2B operations. The business has grown significantly over recent years, both organically and inorganically, and has retained strong levels of profitability,’ FirstGroup said. Lakeside achieved revenue of £12.5 million and adjusted earnings before interest and tax of £2.5 million in the year to March 31. FirstGroup did not disclose the sum of the acquisition. FirstGroup added: ‘Neal Hall, the managing director of Lakeside, will continue to manage the business on a day-to-day basis going forward. Gareth Davies, the owner of Lakeside, will continue to lead the business and will join First Bus to support the ongoing development of its wider coaching strategy. ‘The acquisitions we have made in recent years, in line with our stated strategy to grow and diversify the First Bus portfolio, now represent combined annualised revenues of £100 million and Ebit of £13 million and we continue to evaluate a pipeline of organic and inorganic growth opportunities.’ FirstGroup shares were up 1.2% at 138.90 pence each in London on Friday afternoon. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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