Stagecoach has confirmed that it will sell the retailing activities of its intercity coach businesses, megabus.com and Falcon, to Scottish Citylink.
megabus.com and Falcon are currently 100 percent owned by Stagecoach. The megabus retail and customer-service business sells and markets intercity coach services in England and Wales, while the Falcon South-West business retails tickets for the coach route between Plymouth and Bristol Airport.
In addition, Stagecoach has a joint venture, Scottish Citylink, with international transport group, ComfortDelGro. The joint venture is responsible for the Scottish Citylink express coach network and megabus-branded services in Scotland.
Stagecoach and ComfortDelGro have now reached agreement for Stagecoach to sell its megabus and Falcon South-West businesses to Scottish Citylink. In return, Stagecoach’s share of the Citylink joint venture will increase from 35 percent to 37.5 percent.
Around 30 Stagecoach Group employees are expected to transfer to Scottish Citylink as part of the sale.
“Inter-city coach has a positive future as a greener and better value alternative to the car and as the UK rail network continues to see rising fares and operational challenges. The agreement we have reached with ComfortDelGro will provide certainty for employees in these businesses, and ensure we can continue to benefit from future growth in the inter-city coach market through our increased share in the Scottish Citylink joint venture.”
The agreement is subject to certain conditions and the transaction is expected to be complete in mid-August 2022.
