The bus company owned by two billionaire brothers and former Rangers directors has its sights set on a new wave of acquisitions, writes business correspondent Brian Donnelly
The billionaire brothers building a new bus empire in Scotland are about to embark on a spending spree.
The former Rangers directors who own the company said plans for a new super depot in a Scottish city centre are a precursor to further purchase acquisitions.
McGill’s Buses is to build a new £25 million base in the centre of Glasgow which will create up to 850 jobs, Mark McDougall reported this week.
James and Sandy Easdale are fresh from the acquisition trail for the firm they describe as “UK’s largest independent transport business”, when in July they purchased historic Scottish coach company Prentice Westwood in a seven-figure deal.
A spokesman for the firm said this week: “The new depot will provide a modern, strategically located hub to drive McGill’s continued expansion and will support further growth of its coach fleet to 300 vehicles.
“It will also be strategically important in the event that bus franchising is introduced in Strathclyde. The new base will not affect operations at any of McGill’s existing depot sites.”
James Easdale said the family’s ambition for McGill’s is “to deliver sustainable, high-quality transport while building a business that supports communities and creates long-term employment”.
He said that “with strategic property deals like this, backed by significant investment, we are ensuring McGill’s remains at the forefront of the sector”.
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The co-owner also said this week: “This Glasgow depot is another major step forward in our mission to transform transport across Scotland, and with further acquisitions and expansion opportunities in the pipeline, there is much more to come.”
Sandy Easdale said deals are already lined up “both in company property and for the expansion of McGill’s operations”.
Ralph Roberts, chairman of McGill’s Group, said that the “strategic purchase that fits squarely within McGill’s three-year plan ... in little over five years, we have added operations in Dundee, Stirling, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Livingston, Aberdeen, Inverness and now Glasgow”.
This column earlier exclusively revealed that McGill’s group of companies' most recent accounts showed a rise in turnover from £57.6 million to £91.2m.
Also this week, I wrote that one of the Scottish capital’s largest shopping centres is to be put on the market for sale.
The Ocean Terminal shopping centre in Leith and a 531-home Ocean Quarter development are being marketed by JLL.
It comes as the Scottish Government this week signalled its strongest support to date for exempting the build-to-rent sector from rent control measures, which many developers and industry insiders said had discouraged investment.
Jason Hogg, of JLL, said: “The announcement from the Scottish Government is extremely welcome and is perfect timing for the launch of high-quality BTR opportunities such as Ocean Quarter.
“The 3.5 acre site benefits from detailed planning consent for 531 homes and is one of the best regional build-to-rent developments in the UK.”
He said Tuesday’s announcement “marks what we hope will be the beginning of renewed investor confidence in the Scottish market”.
The Scottish Property Federation interim director Robin Blacklock said the statement "marks a positive and reassuring step for the industry, demonstrating that our concerns have been acknowledged".
He said: "The exemptions for Mid-Market Rent and build to rent offers some long-awaited certainty for those investing in new homes for rent, which are vital to expanding Scotland’s rental housing supply.
“We also support the target to achieve a minimum 10% year-on-year increase in housing delivery across all tenures over the next three years and welcome the government’s ambition to secure £4.9bn investment into the delivery of new affordable homes, which recognises the important role that private investment can play.
"These moves, combined with an ‘emergency-led’ approach to planning delivery will be critical to providing certainty and boosting Scotland’s housing supply."
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