Transport giant swoops for counterpart to fuel West Midlands expansion
Lakeside Group, a bus and coach operator based in Shropshire and Cheshire, has been acquired by FirstGroup to expand its school, private hire, and business-to-business services in the West Midlands.
The acquisition includes Lakeside’s brands—Lakeside Coaches, Merediths Coaches, and A. T. Brown Coaches—and its fleet of about 145 vehicles, operated mainly from its central depot in Ellesmere, Shropshire, with additional sites in Shrewsbury, Telford, and South Cheshire.
Managing director Neal Hall will continue to oversee day-to-day operations, while Lakeside’s owner, Gareth Davies, will join First Bus, one of the companies under FirstGroup, to help drive its coaching strategy.
Lakeside has grown recently, with most revenue from school transport and private hire.
For the year ending March 2024, it reported revenues of around £12.5m and earnings of £2.5m.
Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup’s chief executive officer 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.”