Western Greyhound for sale

Summercourt, Cornwall based Western Greyhound has been put up for sale. The operator has enlisted the services of London based property consultant, ES Group, to undertake the sale. Partner, ES Group, Roland Cramp, said, ‘I can confirm that Western Greyhound has instructed us to explore a sale of the company. A number of discussions are now ongoing and for this reason we are not in a position to provide any further comment at this stage.’ At the time of going to press, the operator itself had not responded to B&CB’s enquiries into the sale.

According to local newspaper reports, a number of drivers were understood to have left Western Greyhound in recent weeks adding to its difficulties. The company achieved significant success with a large fleet of Plaxton Beaver bodied Mercedes-Benz Varios. With DDA deadlines looming and investment needed in their replacement, they still make up around a quarter of the existing fleet of over 70 vehicles alongside Dennis Darts, Optare Solos and a small number of double-deckers.

Western Greyhound operates local bus services and private hire work in Cornwall and into Devon. It was established in 1998, taking over the vehicles and operations of Cornishman Coaches. Headed by Chief Executive, Mark Howarth, the company has won a number of industry awards. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in May 2013 when a fire broke out at the business’s Summercourt depot, destroying a third of its fleet. A second fire in January this year at its Liskeard outstation saw a further three buses ruined.