Statement re Intercity East Coast Franchise Com...

27 November 2014

                                FIRSTGROUP PLC                                 
                                (`FirstGroup')                                 
                                                                               
           Statement re: INTERCITY EAST COAST FRANCHISE COMPETITION            

FirstGroup notes the announcement today by the Department for Transport (`DfT')
concerning the new InterCity East Coast franchise.

Commenting, Tim O'Toole, FirstGroup's Chief Executive, said:

"Our bid for the East Coast franchise was ambitious yet realistic. Had it been
selected, it would have created a world class railway for passengers and value
for taxpayers with a balanced level of risk and returns for shareholders.

"As one of the UK's most experienced operators, we remain committed to the rail
market but we are dissatisfied not to have secured any of the franchises that
have come up for tender in this first round.

"Whilst we will retain a disciplined approach to bidding, we will continue to
examine and assess the feedback from this and previous rail bids to help shape
our approach to future competitions.

"We are shortlisted to run the next TransPennine Express franchise, and are
negotiating with the DfT to extend our current operation of that route to
February 2016. We are also negotiating with the DfT for a direct award to
operate First Great Western, our largest franchise, through to at least March
2019.

"There are 12 franchise competitions still to take place and we remain focused
on reaching our desired position in rail by the end of the process, which is to
achieve earnings on a par with the previous franchising cycle at an acceptable
level of risk and return."

Notes to Editors:

About FirstGroup plc

FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK and
North America. With revenues of more than £6.7 billion and around 117,000
employees in 2013/14, we transported around 2.5 billion passengers last year.
Each of our five divisions is a leader in its field: First Student is the
largest provider of student transportation in North America with a fleet of
around 49,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest
providers of outsourced transit management and contracting services in the US,
while Greyhound is the only national operator of scheduled intercity coach
services across North America. In the UK, FirstGroup is one of Britain's
largest bus operators running a fleet of some 6,400 buses, and we are one of
the most experienced operators of passenger rail services in the UK, carrying
more than 330 million passengers last year, with experience of running all
types of rail network.

Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world, keeping
people moving and communities prospering.

Visit our website at: www.firstgroupplc.com

Contacts at FirstGroup:
Rachael Borthwick, Group Corporate Communications Director
Faisal Tabbah, Group Investor Relations Manager
Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Media
Tel: [phone]

Contacts at Brunswick PR: Michael Harrison/Andrew Porter, Tel: [phone]