Finglands snapped up by First Group

FIRST Manchester has acquired the Finglands bus business for £50,000.

Finglands, owned by the Hull-based East Yorkshire Motor Services group since 1992, operates routes and school contracts in south Manchester.

The business, which had revenues of £3.8m last year, competes with Stagecoach for student trade on the lucrative Oxford Road/Wilmslow Road route which is said to be the busiest in Europe.

The deal with First includes the lease of the company’s Rusholme depot but not the fleet of 41 vehicles. It also excludes the Finglands coach business. Around 100 staff will transfer to First which employs 2,000 people in Manchester and operates 700 buses.

Dave Alexander, managing director for First in the North, said: “This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to Greater Manchester and represents an excellent opportunity to further grow bus passenger volumes. It reflects our strategy of focusing on those areas that offer the greatest potential for growth and will allow us to improve bus networks for the communities we serve.”

The deal is subject to clearance by the Office of Fair Trading.