The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

, in 2022 it was purchased by

Kinetic Group Kinetic Group (formerly known as AATS Group) is an Australian-based multinational bus company that wholly owns a number of bus operations in Australia and New Zealand, including the SkyBus business, which operates bus services to a number of ...

and

Globalvia Globalvia is a Spanish multinational transport infrastructure company that operates in 11 countries across three continents. In June 2022, Globalvia in partnership with Kinetic Group launched a take over bid for the British bus and rail operator ...

History

Incorporation

The Go-Ahead Group was originally founded as ''Go-Ahead Northern Limited'' on 17 February 1987 as a consequence of the privatisation of the National Bus Company, during which a partial management buyout led by Martin Ballinger and Chris Moyes purchased its

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

-based northern division, known as the

Northern General Transport Company The Northern General Transport Company was a bus company in North East England. History It originated in the early 1900s when Gateshead and District Tramways asked Parliament's permission to extend their Tramway, which finished at Low Fell ...

.Chris Moyes obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' 18 September 2006 Early expansion of the company involved the acquisition of several smaller competing bus operators in North East England, such as ''Gypsy Queen'' in 1989 and ''Low Fell Coaches'' in June 1992. Go-Ahead Northern also became a

subcontractor A subcontractor is an individual or (in many cases) a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract. Put simply the role of a subcontractor is to execute the job they are hired by the contractor f ...

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

, operating services to the Midlands, North East, North West and South West England.Go-Ahead Annual Report 30 June 1994
Go-Ahead GroupGo-Ahead Annual Report 29 June 1996
Go-Ahead Group Around the same time, Go-Ahead Leisure purchased a number of

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s, which were sold on during February 1996. Despite bidding for a number of other larger bus operators in the intervening period, Go-Ahead's first major acquisition was

Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and ...

in November 1993,Times 100 Case Study
Go-Ahead History
''Go-Ahead Group Handbook'' British Bus Publishing followed by the

Oxford Bus Company Oxford Bus Company is the trading name of The City of Oxford Motor Services Ltd. Company Number 91106 It is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History Horse trams ...

and Wycombe Bus Company in March 1994. In May 1997, the

operation expanded with the acquisition of the former municipal operator Brighton Transport.Go-Ahead Annual Report 28 June 1997
Go-Ahead Group During September 1999, Metrobus, a large operator operating in London, Surrey and Sussex was acquired.Go-Ahead Annual Report 1 July 2000
Go-Ahead Group

Flotation and into London

Initially, it was structured as an unlisted public company owned 90 percent by its management. However, in May 1994, Go-Ahead was floated on the

. In October 1994, Go-Ahead purchased

London Central London Central is a bus company operating in South London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. History London Central commenced operating on 1 April 1989 when London Buse ...

during the privatisation of London Buses.Go-Ahead Annual Report 30 June 1995
Go-Ahead Group During March 1995,

OK Motor Services OK Motor Services was a bus company, which operated local and regional bus services in County Durham and Tyne and Wear, England. The company was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in March 1995. Following rationalisation and rebranding, the OK Mot ...

was purchased and integrated into the

Go North East Go North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It was previously known as the Northern General Transport Company and Go-Ahead Northern. The comp ...

operation. In June 1996, a second London bus operation,

London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...

, was acquired from the management team that had purchased it when privatised.

Airport services

In October 1998, Go-Ahead diversified into Airport Services with the acquisition of Gatwick Handling International, a provider of ground handling services at UK airports.Go-Ahead Annual Report 3 July 1999
Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead acquired the ground handling operations of British Midland and Midland Airport Services in March 2001 followed by Reed Aviation in August 2001. Along with Go-Ahead's existing Gatwick Handling International operation, all were rebranded as Aviance.Go-Ahead annual results 30 June 2001
Go-Ahead Group In May 2002, Go-Ahead diversified again, acquiring airport-focused ''Meteor Parking''. Included in the purchase of Gatwick Handling International in 1998 was a 50% shareholding in Plane Handling. In August 2004 Go-Ahead purchased the remaining 50% from Virgin Aviation.Go-Ahead Annual Report 2 July 2005
Go-Ahead Group In December 2006

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

parking operator PAS was purchased and integrated into Meteor Parking, followed by security provider Nikaro in February 2007. In January 2010, Go-Ahead disposed of most of its airport-based operations via a sale to

Dnata UK dnata UK is one of the largest independent aircraft ground handling companies in England. History dnata UK was founded in 1987 as Plane Handling. By 1998, Gatwick Handling and Virgin Group each held a 50% shareholding. These were sold in Octobe ...

and

Servisair Servisair was an aircraft ground handling company which was acquired and merged into Swissport and partly the Nordic-based Aviator Airport Alliance in 2014. It had operations in 175 airports worldwide with its head office in the Servisair House ...

. In September 2010, Meteor Parking was sold to

Vinci SA Vinci (corporately styled VINCI) is a French concessions and construction company founded in 1899 as Société Générale d'Enterprises. Its head office is in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris. Vinci is listed on Euronext's Paris sto ...

, bringing Go-Ahead's involvement in the aviation support industry to a close.Go-Ahead Annual Report 2 July 2011
Go-Ahead Group

1996 – 2010

Rail business

In October 1996, Go-Ahead entered the UK rail market when it commenced operating the

Thames Trains Thames Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Go-Ahead that operated the Thames Trains franchise from October 1996 until March 2004. History The Thames Trains franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Ra ...

franchise which it ran until March 2004. The Thames Trains franchise was awarded by the

Director of Passenger Rail Franchising The Director of Passenger Rail Franchising was a statutory office in the United Kingdom created in 1993 by the Railways Act 1993 and usually called the Franchising Director. It lasted from 5 November 1993 until 31 January 2001 when it was sup ...

to Victory Rail Holdings. Go-Ahead owned 65% of the shares in Victory Rail Holdings with the remaining 35% held by some ex British Rail managers and employees. Go-Ahead bought the remaining shares it did not own in June 1998.Go-Ahead Annual Report 27 June 1998
Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead entered into a joint venture with VIA-GTI, taking a 65% stake in

Govia Govia is a transport company based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in November 1996 as a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group (65%) and Keolis (35%) to bid for rail franchises during the privatisation of British Rail. History Establi ...

. Govia ran the

Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...

franchise from March 1997 until March 2006. In August 2001,

started running the South Central rail franchise. In October 2000 the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority awarded Govia the South Central rail franchise with operations due to commence in May 2003 when the

Connex South Central Connex South Central was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Connex that operated the South Central franchise from 26 May 1996 until 25 August 2001. History On 26 May 1996, Connex commenced operating the Network SouthCent ...

franchise expired. Govia negotiated a deal with Connex to buy out the remainder of its franchise.

Failed takeover and operations in Sweden

In 2000, French government owned C3D made an unsuccessful takeover bid for the company. In 2000, Go-Ahead entered two joint ventures with VIA-GTI and

BK Tåg BK Tåg AB, trading as BK Tåg, is a former Swedish railway company A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an rail transport operations, operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains ...

to operate rail services in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Go-Ahead had a 39% stake in City Pendeln AB which was to operate the Citypendeln commuter rail business in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Go-Ahead had a 29% stake in Sydvasten AB which operated rail services between

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

and

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

. Due to problems, Go-Ahead exited both ventures. Wycombe Bus Company was sold to

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.

Expansion into the Midlands and the South

In August 2003, the

Wilts & Dorset Wilts & DorsetCompanies House extract company no 1671355
Wi ...

bus business was purchased.Go-Ahead Annual Report 28 June 2003
Go-Ahead Group In June 2005 Solent Blue Line and

Southern Vectis Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight. The company was founded in 1921 as "Dodson and Campbell" and became the "Vectis Bus Company" in 1923. The company was purchased by the Southern Railway before being nationalised in 1969. ...

were purchased. In September 2005 the Lewes and Seaford operations of

Stagecoach South Stagecoach South is a bus operator providing services in South East England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach. It operates services in Hampshire, Surrey, and Sussex with some routes extending into Brighton and Wiltshire. It operates 487 buses fr ...

were acquired and integrated into the

business.Go-Ahead Annual Report 1 July 2006
Go-Ahead Group In December 2005, Go-Ahead purchased The Birmingham Coach Company, which operated express coaches under contract for

and local bus services in the West Midlands under the Diamond Bus name. Go-Ahead had been known for some time to be keen to begin operating in the area. In February 2006 another operator in the West Midlands, Probus Management, trading as People's Express, was purchased. In August 2006, the Birmingham Coach Company (trading as Diamond Bus) and Probus operations were regrouped under the Go West Midlands Limited legal entity, with the bus operations branded as Diamond in the West Midlands. In February 2006 the Hants & Dorset Trim bus refurbishment business was purchased. In April 2006 the

joint venture commenced operating the

South Eastern franchise The South Eastern franchise, also known as the Integrated Kent franchise, is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services between London and Kent in South East England. History The South Eastern franchise was formed as a shadow ...

Southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

. In September 2006,

Docklands Buses Docklands Buses is a bus company operating in East London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. History Docklands Buses was formed by Harry Blundred's Transit Holdings in 1988 ...

was acquired and integrated into

Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands. It is currently (as of 2021 ...

, followed in October 2006 by

Marchwood Motorways Marchwood Motorways was a bus and coach operator based in Totton, Hampshire. Formed as an independent in the 1940s, it was a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group from 2006 until it became dormant in 2010. Its operations were subsumed by those of Bl ...

which was integrated into

Go South Coast Go South Coast is a bus operator on and around the south coast of England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History In August 2003 the Go-Ahead Group purchased the business of Wilts & Dorset, including its Damory Coaches and Touris ...

.Go-Ahead Annual Report 30 June 2007
Go-Ahead Group In June 2007,

Blue Triangle Blue Triangle is a bus company operating services in East London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates most services under contract to Transport for London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service. History ...

was acquired and integrated into Go-Ahead London. In September 2007 Northumbria Coaches was purchased and integrated into

, followed by Stanley Buses (the bus service subsidiary of Stanley Taxis) in October 2007, and Redby Buses in January 2008.Go-Ahead Annual Report 28 June 2008
Go-Ahead Group In November 2007

began operating the

London Midland London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia. London Midland was created as a result of Gov ...

rail franchise. In December 2007 the

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...

services of

First London First London was a bus company operating services in east and west Greater London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s through the acquisition o ...

were acquired. In February 2008, Go-Ahead sold Go West Midlands to

Rotala Rotala plcCompanies House extract company no 5338907
Rot ...

Central Connect Central Connect may refer to: *Central Connect Airlines *Diamond West Midlands Diamond Bus Ltd.,Gatwick Express Gatwick Express is a high-frequency rail passenger service between , Gatwick Airport, and in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, ...

rail service was incorporated into Southern. In October 2009

East Thames Buses East Thames Buses was the trading name of London Buses Limited, an arms length subsidiary of Transport for London. In 2009, it was sold to the Go-Ahead Group. History East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated ...

was acquired and integrated into

as well as the Horsham operations of

Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Southern CountiesCompanies House extract company no 20314 ...

that were integrated into Metrobus.Go-Ahead half year Report 2 January 2010
Go-Ahead Group In December 2009

Plymouth Citybus Plymouth CitybusCompanies House extract company no 2004966

was purchased from

Plymouth City Council Plymouth City Council is the unitary authority for Plymouth, Devon. It has traditionally been controlled by Labour or the Conservatives. The council is currently in a state of no overall control, with the Conservatives governing as a minority a ...

. In March 2010

Konectbus Konectbus is a bus operator based in Dereham in Norfolk, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and forms part of Go East Anglia. History Konectbus was formed in 1999 when the Saham Toney depot of Norfolk Green was purchased from wi ...

in Norfolk was purchased as well as the

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

operations of

Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United K ...

and integrated into

American operations

In August 2010, Go-Ahead America, a joint venture with Cook Illinois in which Go-Ahead held a 50% stake, commenced operating a yellow school bus contract in

St Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. In July 2014, Go-Ahead exited the United States following the loss of its yellow bus contract.

Since 2011

Acquisitions

In May 2011, Go-Ahead acquired

Thames Travel Thames Travel is a bus operator serving the southern part of the English county of Oxfordshire. It is based in Didcot and is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. In May 2011 the Go-Ahead Group bought Thames Travel. Branded routes River Rapids ...

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The a ...

. Acquisitions in 2012 were

Carousel Buses Carousel Buses is a bus company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Originally an independent company, it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. It is grouped together with Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, both of Oxfordshire, ...

(March) integrated into

, Essex-based Hedingham (March), the Northumberland Park-based operations of

(March),

Anglian Bus Konectbus is a bus operator based in Dereham in Norfolk, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and forms part of Go East Anglia. History Konectbus was formed in 1999 when the Saham Toney depot of Norfolk Green was purchased from wi ...

(April) in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and HC Chambers & Son, Suffolk (June) (immediately operationally merged with Hedingham). In September 2014,

Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise in England. Within the franchise, GTR runs the Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern (Govia Thameslin ...

commenced operating the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise.

Expansion into Europe and Singapore

In November 2015,

Go-Ahead Singapore Go-Ahead Singapore is a contracted bus operator operating in Singapore. It commenced operations on 4 September 2016 and it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History On 15 April 2015, the Land Transport Authority called for tenders to ope ...

was awarded a contract to operate 25 bus services in Singapore previously operated by SBS Transit out of

Loyang Bus Depot Loyang Bus Depot is the second bus depot to be built by the Land Transport Authority in Singapore. It is located at Loyang Way at the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and houses 31 services under the Loyang Bus Package. Loyang Bus Depot is current ...

, which commenced on 4 September 2016. In the same month, Go-Ahead Germany were awarded two rail contracts in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, Germany. The contracts commenced in 20192020. In August 2017, Go-Ahead won a tender to run 24 routes previously operated by

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus ( ga, Bus Átha Cliath) is a State-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 138 million passengers in 2019. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. ...

Go-Ahead Ireland Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, known as Go-Ahead Ireland is a bus operator in Dublin that commenced trading in September 2018. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History With the aim of improving efficiency, in 2015 the ...

commenced the contract with the National Transport Authority to operate these routes on 9 September 2018. In June 2018

East Yorkshire Motor Services East Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, England. Prior to acquisition by the Go-Ahead Group in June 2018, the company was known as East Yorkshire Motor Services. History ...

was purchased with over 300 buses. In January 2019, Go-Ahead Ireland commenced operating a further six routes between

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and its outlying commuter towns, previously operated by

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidia ...

. In October 2018, Go-Ahead won a tender to run the Oslo south package, consisting of three routes previously operated by NSB.

Go-Ahead Norge Go-Ahead Norge is a railway operator in Norway that commenced operations in December 2019. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. The branding used is Go-Ahead Nordic. History In October 2018, Go-Ahead Norge was awarded an eight-year contract ...

commenced the contract with the

Norwegian Railway Directorate The Norwegian Railway Directorate ( no, 'Jernbanedirektoratet', abbr.: JBD or JBDIR) is a government agency holding the strategic responsibility for the Norwegian railway network. It is formed on the basis of the railway reform and became operatio ...

to operate these routes in December 2019.

Manchester and Cornwall

In February 2019, Go-Ahead announced it would buy

First Greater Manchester First Greater ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 28186 ...

Cheetham Hill Cheetham is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England, which in 2011 had a population of 22,562. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north of Manchester city centre, close to the boundary with Salford, bounded by Brou ...

depot with 163 buses and brand it

Go North West Go North West is a bus operator in Greater Manchester, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History Go North West commenced operations on 2 June 2019 following the Go-Ahead Group's purchase of First Greater Manchester's Queens Roa ...

. In March 2020, Go Cornwall Bus partnered with

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( kw, Konsel Kernow) is the unitary authority for Cornwall in the United Kingdom, not including the Isles of Scilly, which has its own unitary council. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition o ...

and local operators to form a new Transport for Cornwall brand, with plans calling for an additional 130 vehicles.

Termination of Southeastern rail franchise

On 28 September 2021, the Department for Transport announced it would terminate the Southeastern franchise the following month, after the discovery of financial misconduct. Southeastern had not declared over £25million that should have been repaid to the government in the period since 2014. Go-Ahead's Chief Financial Officer resigned. On 9 December 2021, the company announced that its auditors needed more time to consider the implications of the misconduct and potential fines from the Department for Transport (DfT). Consequently, the annual results would not be ready at the end of the company's financial year on 2 January 2022, which would oblige the company to request suspension of trading in its shares. The share price fell by about 15% on the day of the announcement. On 24 February 2022, Go-Ahead published their delayed 202021 results, and announced the outcome of investigations into the termination of the franchise. The review found that "serious errors had been made” since 2006, with the expected cost to the company to be over £80million. The amount owed to the DfT was increased to £51.3million, with errors dating back to 2006. Go-Ahead also stated that they expect to have to pay a fine to the DfT, setting aside up to £30million for this. Go-Ahead also stated that they may also owe DfT an additional £21.3million, related to a dispute over profit sharing.

Takeover

On 13 June 2022, a consortium of Australia's

(51%) and Spain's

(49%) launched a takeover bid. The majority of shareholders voted to accept the offer in August 2022.

Operations

The company's operations include:

Bus operations

;United Kingdom *

– bus operations in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

and

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

, acquired in November 1993 ** Metrobus – bus operation in

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

, acquired in September 1999, London operations transferred to

in 2014 *

– bus operations in

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, acquired by London General on 29 June 2007 **

– bus operations in east London, acquired by London General in 2006 **

– bus operations in London, acquired in October 1994 **

– bus operations in London, acquired in June 1996 *

– bus operations in North East England and the founding company of the Go-Ahead Group in 1987 *

East Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to th ...

– bus operations in

Yorkshire and the Humber Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York. It is ...

, acquired in June 2018 *

– bus operations in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, acquired in February 2019 *

** Bluestar – bus operations in

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, acquired in July 2005 ** Damory – bus and coach operations in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, acquired in August 2003 **Excelsior – coach operations in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, acquired in October 2016 **

More More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka S ...

– bus operations in Bournemouth and

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

(previously

Wilts & Dorset Wilts & DorsetCompanies House extract company no 1671355
Wi ...

), acquired in August 2003 ** Salisbury Reds – bus operation in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

and

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

(previously

Wilts & Dorset Wilts & DorsetCompanies House extract company no 1671355
Wi ...

), acquired in August 2003 **

– bus operations on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, acquired in July 2005 ** Swindon's Bus Company – bus operations in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

(previously Thamesdown Transport), acquired in February 2017 **

Tourist Coaches Wilts & DorsetCompanies House extract company no 1671355
Wi ...

– coach operations in Wiltshire, acquired in August 2003 **

Unilink Unilink is the branded bus service operated under contract and serving the University of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The service was created in 1998 following the university's expansion onto several new campuses, requiring new transport ...

– Southampton University bus services for students and public, acquired on 29 September 2008 *Go South West ** Dartline Coaches - Bus company in Exeter.Acquired in October 2022 **

Plymouth Citybus Plymouth CitybusCompanies House extract company no 2004966

– bus operations in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, acquired in November 2009 ** Go Cornwall Bus – bus operations in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, acquired in December 2014 **

Go Devon Bus Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * '' Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position l ...

- Bus operation in North and Mid Devon.Started in October 2022 *

Go East Anglia Go East Anglia is a bus operator in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, owned by the Go-Ahead Group. The group consists of Konectbus and Hedingham & Chambers. History Go East Anglia was initially formed in 2010, when the Go-Ahead Group purchased Kon ...

– bus operations in

, acquired in March 2010 **

Hedingham & Chambers Hedingham & Chambers is a bus operator, part of the larger Go East Anglia unit within Go-Ahead, consisting of the Hedingham and Chambers brands. The group was formed when Go-Ahead purchased the two firms in June 2012. Since the sale, the two ...

- bus operations in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, merged from two former operators in 2012. ***Chambers – bus operations in Suffolk, acquired in June 2012 ***Hedingham – bus operations in Essex, acquired in March 2012 *Oxford Bus Group **

– bus operations in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, acquired in March 1994 **

– bus operations in South Oxfordshire, acquired in May 2011 **

– bus operations in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

, acquired in March 2012 **Tom Tappin – city sightseeing bus operations in Oxford, acquired in December 2017 ;Singapore *

– bus operations in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, commenced operations September 2016 ;Ireland *

– tendered out bus services in Dublin ;Australia *U-Go Mobility - This business will be a joint venture between Go-Ahead and Australian business

UGL Limited UGL, formerly known as United Group, is an engineering company. The company provides construction, maintenance, and asset management services to the rail, resources, and infrastructure sectors, and corporate real estate, facilities management, a ...

Current rail franchises

The company operates the following franchise through

, its joint venture with

Keolis Keolis is a multinational transportation company that operates public transport systems. The company manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus and funicular services. Based ...

: *

– operating under the Southern,

Gatwick Express Gatwick Express is a high-frequency rail passenger service between , Gatwick Airport, and in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, ...

, Thameslink and Great Northern brands The company also operates railway lines internationally: *

– operating the Oslo South package on the

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

Jæren Jæren is a traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the largest flat lowland area ...

and

Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line ( no, Sørlandsbanen) is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger. History The railway was con ...

s. * Go-Ahead Germany – operating rail services in Baden-Württemberg

Previous rail franchises

– October 1996 to March 2004 *

– March 1997 to March 2006 (through the Govia joint venture with Keolis) *

– November 2007 to December 2017 (Govia) *

– April 2006 to October 2021 (Govia). Govia was stripped of the franchise after a serious financial breach of the agreement.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Bus groups in the United Kingdom Companies based in Newcastle upon Tyne Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Go-Ahead Group companies Kinetic Group companies Transport companies established in 1987 Transport operators of the United Kingdom 1987 establishments in England 1994 initial public offerings