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Employees aim to grab company back from Stagecoach
More than 200 Preston Bus employees are to launch a sensational bid to buy the company back from Stagecoach, the Lancashire Evening Post can reveal.
Drivers, engineers and staff members at the company, which was taken over by Stagecoach in January last year, have decided on a bid to snatch back the firm, which must be sold off by May.
A smaller group of those employees has now been formed to thrash out a viable business plan, while outside investment has already been secured for the bid.
The employees also want to approach a former managing director of a major transport company to head up the attempt.
Paul Greenwood, of the UNITE union at Preston Bus, which represents most of those involved in the bid, said the employees would have to take their chances with other interested parties.
He added: "As far as I am aware the sale process is still going through even though they (Stagecoach) have appealed and as it stands at present the staff have come together and are planning to buy it back.
"They are looking at all the accounts now and will bid for the company in the same way as any other people who are interested.
"We had a meeting of staff to get a general feeling about the idea and the general feeling was yes. Basically, we have a team together now to look at a viability of it.
"We thought it would be well received in Preston and very popular."
Stagecoach snapped up Preston Bus in a 6.4m deal following a bitter 'bus wars' in the summer of 2007, which saw both companies flooding popular routes with vehicles in a battle for customers.
The employee group at Preston Bus insist they have not yet put a value on their bid and will only do so once they have studied the accounts and finalised their plans.
Since the Competition Commission ordered Stagecoach to sell Preston Bus last November, Stagecoach has refused to confirm whether there has been any interest from elsewhere.
A spokesman for Stagecoach said they would not be commenting on the sale process.
For more on this story, see the Lancashire Evening Post
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: 3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
