Abellio management buy-out

[Carlisle]

Ok thanks everyone for the updates

 

[dk1]

Update from Greater Anglia’s MD letting us know that all is still going ahead but it’s been more complicated than expected. The management buy out is expected to be completed over the next few month.

 

[dk1]

It’s complete!!

All previous Abellio operated rail operations have become Transport UK from today.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Indeed, wonder how long until the changes start

 

[Bletchleyite]

Indeed, wonder how long until the changes start

I more wonder how long until someone else buys it or it fails. These sorts of management buyout don't have an illustrious history other than maybe Chiltern, and that was a special case which was mostly good because of Adrian Shooter's excellent management skills. Most regular bus and train users in the Merseyside area would probably rather forget MTL, for instance, which was an employee co-operative. Sure, Arriva is pretty bad too, but MTL really was awful, it was what you got if you ran a bus company by bus drivers for bus drivers, and then said bus company had a go at trains too.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

I more wonder how long until someone else buys it or it fails. These sorts of management buyout don't have an illustrious history other than maybe Chiltern, and that was a special case which was mostly good because of Adrian Shooter's excellent management skills. Most regular bus and train users in the Merseyside area would probably rather forget MTL, for instance, which was an employee co-operative. Sure, Arriva is pretty bad too, but MTL really was awful, it was what you got if you ran a bus company by bus drivers for bus drivers, and then said bus company had a go at trains too.

Well I'm willing to them the benefit of doubt currently given that Dominic Booth obviously has intimate knowledge of how the NRC works and what the balance sheet is like. It's more a case of how do they make it more profitable, who's toes are they going to tread on, etc

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well I'm willing to them the benefit of doubt currently given that Dominic Booth obviously has intimate knowledge of how the NRC works and what the balance sheet is like. It's more a case of how do they make it more profitable, who's toes are they going to tread on, etc

I certainly wish them luck!

 

[class 9]

I more wonder how long until someone else buys it or it fails. These sorts of management buyout don't have an illustrious history other than maybe Chiltern, and that was a special case which was mostly good because of Adrian Shooter's excellent management skills. Most regular bus and train users in the Merseyside area would probably rather forget MTL, for instance, which was an employee co-operative. Sure, Arriva is pretty bad too, but MTL really was awful, it was what you got if you ran a bus company by bus drivers for bus drivers, and then said bus company had a go at trains too.

Yes MTL were terrible, a tin pot bus company that thought they'd have a go at a rail franchise.
When they took over RRNE, the asset stripping started very quickly, old hand Drivers were offered early retirement which a lot took advantage of, which led to shortages soon after.
Then there was the skimming of the pension scheme in the form of a contribution holiday.
It was quite obvious they didn't really understand railway operations, some of the staff communications from the top reflected this.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

it was what you got if you ran a bus company by bus drivers for bus drivers, and then said bus company had a go at trains too.

Isn't that how you would describe Stagecoach in their early days?
Admittedly it was the Gloags who started the bus side, while Brian Souter had the business skills.

On the "changes" front, why would anything change, unless imposed by DfT to agree to the transfer of the rail businesses to Transport UK?
They used to be called "customer benefits".
It would be interesting to know what kind of support NS will continue to provide to Transport UK, and what parent/performance guarantees now apply.
The Abellio.com web site doesn't reflect the changes yet, and there's nothing on the DfT web site.

Transport UK

A dynamic private sector transport operator serving millions of rail and bus passengers every day across the UK.

www.abellio.com

 

[Mikey C]

I more wonder how long until someone else buys it or it fails. These sorts of management buyout don't have an illustrious history other than maybe Chiltern, and that was a special case which was mostly good because of Adrian Shooter's excellent management skills. Most regular bus and train users in the Merseyside area would probably rather forget MTL, for instance, which was an employee co-operative. Sure, Arriva is pretty bad too, but MTL really was awful, it was what you got if you ran a bus company by bus drivers for bus drivers, and then said bus company had a go at trains too.

MTL operated some routes in London as well after buying one of the London Bus companies. Thankfully not for long...

 

[jeremyjh]

https://www.abellio.com/news/abellio-uk-to-be-renamed-transport-uk-group

Abellio UK and its Dutch shareholder Nederlandse Spoorwegen today completed a management buyout, signed in August 2022, after receiving all formal approvals required.

Following the completion of this complex deal, the new company, Transport UK Group Ltd (TUK), will take over all Abellio UK’s existing services, serving millions of rail and bus passengers in London, Liverpool, the Midlands and East Anglia. TUK will operate East Midlands, West Midlands, Greater Anglia and over 60 London bus routes. The company will also operate Merseyrail in partnership with Serco. In the short term, the Abellio brand will remain in operation for parts of the business, including Abellio London Bus, but under the TUK group.

Under its new name, TUK remains committed to playing a vital, long-term role in the future of UK rail and bus services, ensuring that it delivers on passenger needs and provides a sustainable, safe, and reliable travel experience. The company will also continue to provide its voice and extensive knowledge to help shape the debate on UK rail industry reform, focusing on driving innovation and working with all governmental and industry bodies to shape and implement a future-ready, low-emission UK transport network.

The deal was led by Managing Director Dominic Booth, who has decades of experience running public transport services in the UK.

 

[GusB]

I wonder if they really spent much time thinking about the acronym TUK, and how it could potentially be abused when things go wrong...

 

[GordonT]

Have not most UK transport MBOs in the past (buses/TOCs/ROSCOs etc.) been short-lived ventures with a combination of good, average and indifferent managers ending up with significant wealth to see them live much more comfortably once retired than they envisaged, due to being coincidentally in the right place at the right time?

 

[Haywain]

Have not most UK transport MBOs in the past (buses/TOCs/ROSCOs etc.) been short-lived ventures with a combination of good, average and indifferent managers ending up with significant wealth to see them live much more comfortably once retired than they envisaged, due to being coincidentally in the right place at the right time?

Maybe, but they've been prepared to take the risks.

 

[185]

I wonder if they really spent much time thinking about the acronym TUK, and how it could potentially be abused when things go wrong...

Transport
Uk
Group

Looks even more badly thought out to me

 

[Adrian1980uk]

New vehicles anyone.. Tuk tuk

 

[PG]

I wonder if they really spent much time thinking about the acronym TUK, and how it could potentially be abused when things go wrong...

Might gain the Fryers moniker - appropriate if there are any thermal incidents in the future

 

[Mikey C]

They should have separately named divisions

Rail UK - RUK
Bus UK - BUK
And when they diversify into freight
Freight UK -

 

[Christmas]

Any visible signs of the Abellio brand being removed? Or are they continuing to trade as Abellio Greater Anglia etc?

 

[dk1]

Any visible signs of the Abellio brand being removed? Or are they continuing to trade as Abellio Greater Anglia etc?

They’ve not been known as Abellio Greater Anglia since around 2018. It’s just Greater Anglia.

Only seems to be on here that it’s often referred to as AGA for some reason.

 

[pdeaves]

Any visible signs of the Abellio brand being removed? Or are they continuing to trade as Abellio Greater Anglia etc?

In the short term at least, it appears that Transport UK is simply a holding company looking after Abellio East Anglia Ltd (trading as Greater Anglia). The Abellio name has transferred and there are no immediate changes.

 

[Goldfish62]

In the short term at least, it appears that Transport UK is simply a holding company looking after Abellio East Anglia Ltd (trading as Greater Anglia). The Abellio name has transferred and there are no immediate changes.

I'm told by an insider that there'll be a re-branding in the summer. This will include removing everything and anything in Abellio corporate style and is a condition of the sale.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

I'm told by an insider that there'll be a re-branding in the summer. This will include removing everything and anything in Abellio corporate style and is a condition of the sale.

That surely goes without saying - it's no longer part of Abellio so anything to do with Abellio will be removed sooner rather than later, and that includes specific fonts that fit in with the branding too.

WMT has launched a new website this last week, would imagine that they have already removed any Abellio related stuff from it

 

[Bletchleyite]

That surely goes without saying - it's no longer part of Abellio so anything to do with Abellio will be removed sooner rather than later, and that includes specific fonts that fit in with the branding too.

WMT has launched a new website this last week, would imagine that they have already removed any Abellio related stuff from it

The LNR/WMR website looks the same as it has for ages to me. I can't see a WMT "corporate" site?

"London Eastern Railway" anyone?

 

[Trainbike46]

The LNR/WMR website looks the same as it has for ages to me. I can't see a WMT "corporate" site?

"London Eastern Railway" anyone?

Greater Anglia, the brand name already in use, will probably stay though, right? The name isn't related to Abellio, and at least for me it has positive connotations, as it describes the area served, and all my experiences with them have been good.

I'd even go so far as to say that, in my experience, their ticket office staff are the best I've encountered.

For WMT/LNWR/EMR/Merseyrail, all the public facing names will probably stay the same too, because not related to Abellio, and they describe the area served

 

[Intercity110]

on LNR's website the careers section goes to abellio's website, shouldn't they have their own website?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I remember when NS (as-was) first got involved in GB Rail franchises by winning both Northern and Merseyrail in collaboration with Serco (Unrelated, but funny how those two or their predecessors have so often been under the same ownership!).

At the time there were lots of ideas about how Dutch policy might bleed through, but as it turned out the best we got were a few extra bike racks (Northern) and a few "MtoGo" shops (Merseyrail). Oh, and the "Cycle Hub" at Leeds station which didn't last all that long.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Greater Anglia, the brand name already in use, will probably stay though, right? The name isn't related to Abellio, and at least for me it has positive connotations, as it describes the area served, and all my experiences with them have been good.

I'd even go so far as to say that, in my experience, their ticket office staff are the best I've encountered.

For WMT/LNWR/EMR/Merseyrail, all the public facing names will probably stay the same too, because not related to Abellio, and they describe the area served

Yes, I believe they are generic names and almost certainly will stay, I was being a bit silly. There is no element of Abellio branding at all at WMT, partly because it's not solely Abellio, it's a joint venture with JR East and Mitsui. GA indeed don't seem to have a poor reputation unlike many TOCs, though I do wonder sometimes why people tolerate such awful trains as the 720s without lots of complaints.

 

[James H]

The GA logo/font and house colours are derived from Abellio so may have to change, even if the name stays.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The GA logo/font and house colours are derived from Abellio so may have to change, even if the name stays.

Given that the livery is basically the same as TfW's, which is a close imitation of the SBB livery, I doubt they would have any chance of enforcing that in Court (though of course they may choose to change it, but that wouldn't just be slapping vinyls on trains, it'd be repainting stations etc - hugely costly). Black and white with red doors is about as generic as you can get without it being overall white. The logo and font choice based on the Abellio brand I'd imagine so, yes.