National Express Group PLC
04 October 2007
National Express Group PLC
National Express completes acquisition of Continental Auto and consolidates its
position as Spain's leading public transport group
National Express Group PLC ('National Express' or 'the Group') is delighted to
announce completion of its acquisition of Continental Auto SL ('Continental
Auto'), a leading operator of bus and coach services in Spain, following
unconditional clearance by Spain's Council of Ministers. The transaction
consolidates the Group's position as a leader in the Spanish public transport
market following the acquisition of Alsa in December 2005.
The acquisition will bring National Express's operations in Spain to more than
2,100 vehicles carrying 142 million passengers per year. Continental Auto brings
particular strengths in commuter, urban and regional operations. The combination
of the Continental Auto and Alsa networks also offers a further opportunity to
leverage National Express's coaches expertise, especially on the sales and
marketing and customer service fronts.
Commenting on completion, Richard Bowker, Chief Executive of the National
Express Group said: 'This is a key strategic acquisition for the Group and we
are delighted to have received unconditional clearance. We are now able to
integrate the business into our Spanish operations sooner than we originally
anticipated and we welcome the Continental management and people to the Group.
This acquisition not only establishes us as the leading bus and coach operator
in Spain, it also reinforces our clear strategy of buying high quality
businesses in countries that have a strong commitment to growing public
transport in partnership with the private sector. We are excited at the
opportunities that exist in the Spanish market and look forward to our two
businesses, with their highly respected brands, taking advantage of the
significant growth opportunities we foresee in 2008 and beyond.'
Current Trading
Since we announced our interim results on 26 July, the Group has continued to
trade in line with expectations. All our businesses continue to perform well. In
the UK we have continued to see strong double digit revenue growth across our
rail portfolio to 22 September 2007 (the end of national rail period 6) and our
UK coach business has experienced good growth over the summer period. In our
Spanish division the summer months are a key trading period and our results are
in line with forecasts.
- ENDS -
For further information, please contact:
National Express Group PLC +44 20 7529 2000
Richard Bowker, Chief Executive
Adam Walker, Finance Director
Alison Flynn, Group Communications
Maitland +44 20 7379 5151
Neil Bennett/ Suzanne Bartch/ Brian Hudspith
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange MGGGDKGNZM
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