Yorkshire bus maker sold

COACH builder Optare has been acquired for an undisclosed sum.

The Leeds-based company has been taken over by Jamesstan Investments which is controlled by North East businessman Roy Stanley.

Optare employs around 300 people in Leeds and also has a manufacturing site in Rotherham.

It was established in the 1920s as Charles Roe coach builders but became part of state-owned British Leyland in the 1960s.

However, after the factory shut in the 1980s with the loss of 400 jobs, workers and directors bought the company, with backing from West Yorkshire County Council, and established Optare.

Following a takeover by North American Bus Industries Inc it again became independent following a management buyout in 2005.

Optare, which has turnover of around £60m, supplies buses to Stagecoach, Go-Ahead and First Group.

Its chief executive, Bob Coombes, and the rest of the management team will stay with company.

Russell Richardson, chairman of Optare, will join Mr Stanley on the board of Jamesstan Investments as a non-executive director.

It is understood that Optare plans to move to a new location in West Yorkshire.

Mr Stanley, who is also a shareholder in AIM listed companies The Tanfield Group and Darwen Holdings, said: “I am committed to the future of bus making in Britain and believe that Optare has an unsurpassed range of buses – all to its own innovative design and based on full, integral construction.

“This was a rare opportunity to acquire such a dynamic business at a time when it is poised to win even greater success in the competitive UK market and also to win more sales in Europe .

“I will be giving Bob Coombes and his colleagues all the support I can to maintain their winning formula and am pleased that Russell Richardson will be making his expertise available to help me steer the Optare business in the future.”

Mr Richardson said: “This agreement means business as usual for all of Optare's stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers and others alike – and it is a pleasure to announce the successful conclusion of this transaction.

“I have great respect for Roy Stanley and I am certain he will help drive the business forward from the excellent position it is in today reflecting the Optare team's considerable achievements in the past three years. I am delighted that I will continue to be involved in the company's future success.”