Chairman's AGM Stmt-Extracts

FIRSTGROUP PLC
15 July 1999


                   EXTRACTS FROM CHAIRMAN'S AGM STATEMENT

FirstGroup Chairman, Trevor Smallwood, at the Company's Annual General Meeting
today in London, said :

'Last year was another very good year for FirstGroup with excellent growth in
profits and earnings; we continued to expand our core bus business; we made
strong progress in rail, integrating Great Western into our existing
operations; investment was a record £108 million and profits increased in all
three operating divisions.

The last twelve months have been very eventful for the transport industry. We
have seen the publication of the White Paper on transport policy together with
'Daughter Documents' on railways and buses. We have also seen the start of the
new Local Transport Planning process and the setting up of the new Strategic
Rail Authority.  We are very encouraged by the overall thrust of government
policy and are confident that the Group will be able to play an important role
in working with local and central government to deliver their aspirations for
improved public transport.

This year will be another year of significant capital investment for
FirstGroup. Some £80 million will be committed for bus renewals. Within the
rail division 70 new vehicles are scheduled for delivery to First North
Western later this year and 40 for First Great Western in summer 2000, as part
of our £200 million rail investment programme.  Early next year the new
terminal building at Bristol International will open as part of our £37
million investment to equip the airport for the new millenium.

Our strategy is very clear - to make FirstGroup one of the world's leading
transport providers.

Overseas expansion is an important part of our growth strategy and on 5 July
1999 we were pleased to announce our first US acquisition - Bruce
Transportation - the largest privately owned school bus operator in New
England.  Bruce operates 1,000 school buses in New Hampshire, Vermont and
Massachusetts and is an important first step for us into the U.S market.  With
over 450,000 school buses operating everyday and a highly fragmented market,
we believe it offers us tremendous opportunities for further growth. We are
continuing to look for other opportunities in markets where we can apply our
management expertise and create attractive returns for shareholders.

I am pleased to report that for the first three months of the year Group
trading is ahead of our expectations.'

Enquiries on Thursday 15 July 1999 from 1:30pm:

Trevor Smallwood, Executive Chairman                   Tel: [phone]
Moir Lockhead, Group Chief Executive                   Tel: [phone]
Michael Mitchell, Director of Corporate Communications Tel: [phone]

Notes for editors:

FirstGroup plc is a leading international passenger transport group, employing
around 31,000 people and with a current annualised turnover of some £1.5
billion. FirstGroup is the largest bus operator in the UK, with a fleet of
some 10,000 buses and a market share of approximately 23 per cent. The Group
also operates three railway franchises - First Great Eastern, First Great
Western and First North Western and has a majority shareholding in Bristol
International Airport. Overseas, the Group operates bus services in Hong Kong
through a joint venture partnership and owns a 1,000 vehicle school bus
company in New England, USA.