KB Coaches is beginning a new chapter after FirstGroup acquired the long-established coach operator based at Eastington, near Stonehouse.
The deal adds 30 vehicles to FirstGroup’s growing UK and Ireland coach portfolio. Current owner Andy Francis is retiring following the acquisition, while Transport Manager Tom Weaver and Operations Manager Dean Francis will remain with the business.
Existing services and bookings will continue
Customers are not expected to see immediate changes to the company’s arrangements. KB Coaches will continue to operate under its existing arrangements, with current services, contracts and bookings continuing as normal.
The business currently employs 34 people. Its work includes home-to-school transport, private hire and team travel for Forest Green Rovers and numerous other football clubs, giving the Eastington operator a role in both local transport and sporting travel.
KB Coaches was founded more than 40 years ago under Ken Boulton. During that time, it has built what the company describes as a strong reputation across Gloucestershire for personal service.
Dean Francis, who will continue as Operations Manager, said that approach would remain central after the change in ownership.
“For our customers it will very much be business as usual, while for the team it opens up new opportunities to develop the business for the future,”
He said the firm’s reputation for providing a “high-quality, personal service” would remain at the heart of the business.
FirstGroup enters Gloucestershire coach market
The acquisition marks First Bus’s entry into the Gloucestershire coach market and adds further expertise in the home-to-school transport sector.
FirstGroup’s UK coach portfolio now comprises almost 600 vehicles and employs more than 700 people across the UK and Ireland. The group has expanded its operations in recent years through the acquisition of Anderson Travel, Eagle Coaches, Hills Coaches, J&B Travel, Lakeside Group, Tetley’s Coaches, Wilfreda Beehive, Matthews and York Pullman.
Gareth Davies, Managing Director (Coaching) for First Bus, said KB Coaches had developed a “really strong business in Gloucestershire”.
“It brings something new to our coach portfolio, both in terms of geography and the markets it serves, and gives us a strong platform from which to develop our presence in the region,”
Davies said First Bus wanted to preserve the “local knowledge and relationships” that had made businesses such as KB Coaches successful, while giving them access to the wider group’s resources and investment.
For KB Coaches, the stated immediate outcome is continuity: the company’s current services, contracts and bookings remain in place while its existing management team continues to operate the business. For FirstGroup, the acquisition expands its geographical reach and adds a Gloucestershire operator to a coach division that already spans the UK and Ireland.
The purchase is the latest step in FirstGroup’s wider expansion of its coach operations across the UK and Ireland.