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Jo Bamford completes Wrightbus takeover.

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507021

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Jo Bamford has today completed his takeover of Wrightbus, with recruitment due to start in the next few weeks.

Buta Atwal, who previously worked for JCB, has been appointed as CEO.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-50143581

The new owner of bus manufacturer Wrightbus has said recruitment will start in the coming weeks.

Bamford Bus Company, owned by English industrialist Jo Bamford, has now formally acquired the Ballymena firm after the sales process completed.

The business was placed into administration and put up for sale last month, with about 1,200 losing their jobs.

The 60 staff retained by administrators Deloitte have transferred to Bamford....
 
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KGGXXXY

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So the holding company is registered as "Bamford Bus Company" wonder if the operating name "Wright" will be changed or retained?
 

ChrisPJ

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This is great news. As long as he doesn't believe the nonsense about how "the move to electric buses" has decimated Wright's order books. Vast majority of the UK market (and other markets they supplied) isn't buying anything except Euro 6 diesel for the foreseeable future.
 

carlberry

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This is great news. As long as he doesn't believe the nonsense about how "the move to electric buses" has decimated Wright's order books. Vast majority of the UK market (and other markets they supplied) isn't buying anything except Euro 6 diesel for the foreseeable future.
If he's in for the long haul then they have to have a plan to move to electric, it cant be that long before some local authority decides to force all electric buses within a LEZ, whilst allowing any cars of any type.
 

ClydeCoaster

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If he's in for the long haul then they have to have a plan to move to electric, it cant be that long before some local authority decides to force all electric buses within a LEZ, whilst allowing any cars of any type.
His real push will be for Wrightbus (or whatever it may become) to be the go-to supplier for hydrogen fuel cell buses rather than electric. Bamford's Ryse Hydrogen is already a major player in the contracts for the hydrogen StreetDecks for Aberdeen and London.
 

option

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Presumably the Bamfords don't like the proposed Brexit deal / Withdrawal Agreement, as it would make it more difficult to move stuff between GB & NI...
 

carlberry

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Presumably the Bamfords don't like the proposed Brexit deal / Withdrawal Agreement, as it would make it more difficult to move stuff between GB & NI...
I'm not sure government actually know what the difference will be (given the minister responsible didn't know the answer yesterday so gave two different ones!). However it's not going to be a vast change.
 

Beemax

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I'm not sure government actually know what the difference will be (given the minister responsible didn't know the answer yesterday so gave two different ones!). However it's not going to be a vast change.

It will be an increased bureaucratic burden as I understand it, as you' ll have to pay customs duties and then try to reclaim them.
 

ClydeCoaster

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Presumably the Bamfords don't like the proposed Brexit deal / Withdrawal Agreement, as it would make it more difficult to move stuff between GB & NI...
Certainly Jo's father, Lord Bamford, is an ardent supporter of Brexit and said a No Deal would be nothing to fear. But that digresses from topic, hopefully this is good news for the many of the former Wrightbus workforce.
 

Eyersey468

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This is excellent news for the workforce. Hopefully as many jobs as possible will be saved.
 

KeithC

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Something is happening.
4 new Streetdecks have apparently arrived at First Leeds Bramley depot (35600/2-4)
 

NorthernSpirit

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Selling them as BBC Streetdeck is going to cause issues!

Personally I think that Jo Bamford should simply name his new venture as Bamford's or JB's to try and avoid using the abbreviation BBC. I'd also imagine that anything that is finished off on the production line will still be plated as a Wrightbus despite Wrightbus no longer exisiting as such, what with it taking time to redesign and rebadge the grilles.

Something is happening. Four new Streetdecks have apparently arrived at First Leeds Bramley depot (35600/2-4)

These four new Streetdecks could be for either the 4, 4G, 16, 49, 50 or 50A, but any further discussion on the these recent arrivals should be posted in the "First West Yorkshire & York" thread.
 

F Great Eastern

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This is great news. As long as he doesn't believe the nonsense about how "the move to electric buses" has decimated Wright's order books. Vast majority of the UK market (and other markets they supplied) isn't buying anything except Euro 6 diesel for the foreseeable future.

A customer (Irish National Transport Authority) that has taken several hundred in from them over the past 2-3 years is not buying any more diesel only vehicles. There's a tender out for 600 hybrid vehicles right now.
 

Robertj21a

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A customer (Irish National Transport Authority) that has taken several hundred in from them over the past 2-3 years is not buying any more diesel only vehicles. There's a tender out for 600 hybrid vehicles right now.

Let's just hope that he drops the Streetdeck and Streetlite integrals. Get back to building the body on chassis orders, while also looking at electric, hydrogen etc
 

Mikey C

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What they need to do is start winning back orders on the B5LH that they've lost to MCV.
 

F Great Eastern

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Let's just hope that he drops the Streetdeck and Streetlite integrals. Get back to building the body on chassis orders, while also looking at electric, hydrogen etc

The previous lower deck ceiling sagging issues in the later batches of Gemini 3's because of cheapening out of materials between the floor to cut costs hasn't exactly helped their reputation in Ireland.

However unless ADL are going to invest in a support network in Ireland or partner with Volvo, then Wright, as subcontractors of Volvo, should still be in a good position for orders, if they haven't missed the boat for tenders.
 

Robertj21a

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The previous lower deck ceiling sagging issues in the later batches of Gemini 3's because of cheapening out of materials between the floor to cut costs hasn't exactly helped their reputation in Ireland.

However unless ADL are going to invest in a support network in Ireland or partner with Volvo, then Wright, as subcontractors of Volvo, should still be in a good position for orders, if they haven't missed the boat for tenders.

That assumes that Bamford wants to carry on with much the same work that Wrights did. He may well wish to take it in a different direction.
 

F Great Eastern

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That assumes that Bamford wants to carry on with much the same work that Wrights did. He may well wish to take it in a different direction.

Well he'd be a fool to give up on the custom of their biggest customer of the last few years, as they've delivered close on 1000 vehicles since 2014 as part of NTA led tenders.
 

Robertj21a

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Well he'd be a fool to give up on the custom of their biggest customer of the last few years, as they've delivered close on 1000 vehicles since 2014 as part of NTA led tenders.

Quite probably - but that may be of lesser concern to him if his motivation is to use the facilities to develop alternatives. A lot of Wrights customers moved to ADL some time ago, before these latest problems, so he'll struggle to get the volumes back.
 

randyrippley

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Trying to regain business that a bankrupt company has lost rarely works: you're just throwing money down a plughole, the market always moves on too quickly and the new owners are forever playing catchup.
Far better to use the production facilities to create a new business based on new product, create your own new market
 

Volvodart

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When he was initially interested in the business, it was mentioned he was looking to employ "hundreds" of people, so you could be correct, but this may have changed now.
 

riceuten

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If he's in for the long haul then they have to have a plan to move to electric, it cant be that long before some local authority decides to force all electric buses within a LEZ, whilst allowing any cars of any type.

Well, given the amount of pollution the vehicles cause, that's not that much of a surprise
 

deanmachine

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Wrightbus Complete First Deliveries After Takeover by Bamford

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-northern-ireland-50408679

Wrightbus has completed its first delivery of new buses following the company's acquisition last month by new owners Bamford Bus Company.

The first 36 units of a 55 bus order were delivered to First Group for use in Leeds, in a deal worth about £13m.

The new owners expect a full production line to be back up and running in 2020.

Wrightbus chief executive Buta Atwal said it is "a clear signal of our intent to drive forward the Wrightbus business and grow the company".

In September, the Ballymena-based bus manufacturer was placed into administration and put up for sale , with about 1,200 people losing their jobs.

Analysis: Clodagh Rice, BBC News NI Business Correspondent

The delivery of buses from the Ballymena factory is something staff had feared was a thing of the past.

The business was placed into administration in September, putting 1,200 jobs at risk.

This delivery is a sign that at least some staff are getting back to work, but there is still a question mark over how many will be retained by the new owner, Jo Bamford.

The company is currently recruiting for roles like engineers, technicians and project managers.

But it's not yet clear what size and composition of workforce Mr Bamford requires for his future plans.

The company had suffered cash flow problems and had sought investment or a new owner.

Sixty staff retained by administrators Deloitte have transferred to Bamford and unions hope many more will return when full production starts.

Jo Bamford, the son of JCB chairman Lord Bamford, will serve as Wrightbus' executive chairman.

"With the government's recent announcement of a new national bus strategy in 2020, in which decarbonisation will play a key role, we enter an exciting period," said Mr Atwal, who is a former senior JCB executive.

"Wrightbus has the opportunity to lead the way given our track record in manufacturing state of the art zero emission hydrogen buses as well as electric and hybrid models."
 

Volvodart

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They have finally admitted the scale of the new operation. 100 employees were kept on after the sale and they are looking for 200 more over the next few months. After that there will be another "wave" of recruitment. That is all I could see from the Belfast Telegraph article.
 

xc170

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They have finally admitted the scale of the new operation. 100 employees were kept on after the sale and they are looking for 200 more over the next few months. After that there will be another "wave" of recruitment. That is all I could see from the Belfast Telegraph article.

Finally admitted??
 

Volvodart

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If anyone is interested, the administrator's report is available for download on the link below. It looks like Bamford acquired it for £3 million, partly coming from the sale of the buses that were undelivered at the time of the administration. He has an option to purchase International for £100,000 and the old head office site at Ballymena at market value.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/NI006119/filing-history
 
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Whiteway215

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Does anyone know if the new Bamford Bus Company has commenced providing spares for Wright products?
 
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