FirstGroup sells eight London bus depots

24th Jun 2013 09:35

FTSE 250-listed transport company FirstGroup has completed the disposal of its London bus depots.Five of its London bus depots were sold to Metroline and three to Transit Systems Group for a combined consideration of about £80m, the company said.Giles Fearnley, Managing Director of FirstGroup UK Bus, said: "The sale of these operations reflects further progress in our programme to reposition our UK Bus portfolio, recover performance and equip the business to achieve sustainable revenue and patronage growth." He added: "Our strategy is to focus on those areas of the country which offer the greatest potential and, while we have been a key operator in London for many years, our focus going forward is on the deregulated market outside of the capital. We continue to work closely with Transport for London to ensure that the transfer to new operators goes as smoothly as possible."FirstGroup's share price was down 0.91% to 97.60p at 09:39 on Monday.MF