The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
New Zealand expansion drives Souter Holdings
Transport: Move is part of NZ$100 million bus, coach and ferry programme
The private investment vehicle of Perth entrepreneur Sir Brian Souter is continuing to expand.
Souter Holdings, Highland Global Transport’s operations in New Zealand, has acquired Rotorua-based coach operator Reesby Buses.
The move comes in the same week as the launch of Souter’s new umbrella brand, InMotion Group.
The moves are part of a NZ$100 million (£ 41.92m) investment programme over three years.
Souter Investments is the family investment office of Sir Brian Souter, co-founder of Perth-based Stagecoach.
Sir Brian said putting Souter Holdings’ bus, coach and ferry businesses together into the newlyformed InMotion Group was an obvious next step.
“With ManaBus.com’s acquisition of nakedbus.com in May, and now the addition of Reesby, we felt it was time that the group’s growing transport interests in New Zealand had a separate identity,” he said.
InMotion, the new name for Souter Holdings’ transport operations, reflects the company’s focus on growing its urban, city to city, charter and tour service bus and coach businesses.
It also includes Auckland-based ferry and bus operators Fullers Group, 360 Discovery and Howick & Eastern Buses, Wellington bus operator Mana Coach Services, Reesby Buses in Rotorua, and express city to city coach operators ManaBus.com and nakedbus.com.
Souter Holdings’ executive Bill Rae will head InMotion Group and the management structure at the various operating companies would remain unchanged.
The acquisition of Reesby expands the InMotion Group’s operations to over 340 buses and coaches and 17 ferries, carrying over 16 million passengers each year within and between towns and cities across New Zealand.
Mr Rae said Reesby gave InMotion Group’s long-distance services a well-established Central North Island hub.
He added: “This is all in the context of a capital investment programme across the bus and ferry fleet that will continue to upgrade and extend the group’s services and improve the experience for our customers.”