Land Passenger Transport

A significant amount of transactional activity has been seen over the last 12 months, the most notable being DWS’s acquisition of Stagecoach Group and the acquisition of Go-Ahead Group by Kinetic / Globalvia. The wider UK bus industry has also seen a number of smaller scale transactions, as well as the continued growth of European brand platforms in the inter-city coach market.

Restructuring activity in the bus sector remains muted, as post pandemic passenger numbers have recovered well and fuel price increases have been absorbed. Workforce disputes and industrial action are, however, becoming increasingly prevalent.  Costs of transitioning to low carbon fleets are also significant and the introduction of ULEZ zones in more regional cities is accelerating the need for this investment. The industry’s other main challenges remain congestion slowing journey times – impacting fleet requirements - and political desire for re-regulation of bus networks.

In the rail sector, a number of operators have been nationalised as a result of operational issues – particularly in relation to staffing. Whilst the cost of labour disputes are falling to Government rather than individual operators, disruption caused by strikes and other secondary action is causing serious operational difficulties and reputational damage.  The outlook for UK rail operators remains fundamentally uncertain pending clarity on the UK Government’s plans to legislate for the introduction of ‘Great British Railways’.