UK transport group Stagecoach to steer away from Euro Megabus

Transport giant Stagecoach pulled off its own partial Brexit today, selling its megabus Europe business to a German rival.

Stagecoach has agreed to offload the timetabling, marketing, pricing and sales of its £18 million-a-year European megabus business, whose destinations include Brussels, Toulouse, Rotterdam, Milan, and Barcelona.

But it is not quitting the continent entirely. It will still operate some cross-Europe coach services under contract to its buyer, Flixbus.

The rapidly growing German firm isn’t paying Stagecoach upfront at the ticket office, but instead giving it a loan note to be paid by the end of next year.

It comes as Stagecoach’s pre-tax profit crashed 37% to £104.4 million in the year to April. Revenues were up, hitting £3.9 billion, up from £3.2 billion a year earlier but the firm invested in new coaches and apps.

It warned it had been forced to “keep recent fare increases to a minimum” on its buses and that the outlook for UK rail, where Stagecoach operates South West and East Midlands Trains and is in joint ventures on the West Coast and East Coast rail franchises, was “more challenging than a year ago”.

Chief executive Martin Griffiths added: “The [EU] referendum result may lead to continuing economic, consumer and political uncertainty.”