TRANSPORT

operator Stagecoach continued to ride high on the news it could revamp its East Coast franchise.

Under a new arrangement the Department for Transport is to introduce an East Coast Partnership – a joint venture between the public and private sector from 2020.

Investors welcomed the deal as the current franchise has failed to generate the sales and profits many had hoped for when Stagecoach first won it in 2014. Shares rose 1.4pc, or 2.5p, to 182.5p.