Julian Peddle
Encyclopedia
Julian Peddle is an entrepreneur who has worked in the bus industry since the early 1980s, having owned or part-owned numerous bus companies. He spent 11 years as co-owner of Stevensons of Uttoxeter between 1983 and 1994, having previously been its traffic manager. During the late 1990s and early 2000s he ran Status Group, a group of small bus companies spread across England
which included Choice Travel
, BakerBus
and MK Metro
. He was a major shareholder in Tellings-Golden Miller
before its sale to Arriva.
Peddle's current investments include Centrebus
and the related Centrebus Holdings
, for both of which he holds the position of director, and minority shares in South Lancs Travel
and D&G Bus.
studied transport management at Loughborough University
, working for various National Bus Company subsidiaries during holidays. He joined the co-ordination staff of Staffordshire County Council in 1978, and after 15 months moved north to become traffic manager at 29-vehicle independent bus and coach operator Mayne's of Manchester. This proved impractical, however, so in March 1980 he moved back to Staffordshire to become traffic manager at Stevensons of Uttoxeter.
which required no public subsidy. They also took over two small operators, Middleton's of Rugeley
and Erewash Travel Services, in the early 1980s; the latter was sold to Nottingham City Transport
in 1988.
In 1985 Peddle wrote a letter to the chief executive of his former employer Staffordshire County Council suggesting that he was interested in merging Stevensons with the heavily loss-making council-owned East Staffordshire operation based in Burton-on-Trent. The council's transport manager agreed to this and the two companies merged in October 1985, with the council owning 49% and Peddle and Stevenson the remaining 51%. It initially faced competition from Midland Fox, but this ceased in August 1987 when Stevensons bought 40% of the company following its privatisation, with Peddle being appointed to Fox's board. Stevensons took over two depots as part of the deal. Peddle credits the large numbers of Daimler Fleetline
double-deckers bought from London Buses
with making this level of expansion possible, as they were cheap to buy and easy to run.
In 1989 Midland Fox was acquired by Drawlane. Fox's managing director, David Martin, arranged to move Peddle to another Drawlane subsidiary, Manchester-based Bee Line Buzz Company, for 12 months in an attempt to reduce losses there. During these 12 months Peddle was able to reduce average losses from £90000 to £3000 per month. In January 1991 Bee Line's depot in Stockport
was closed by Drawlane. Two of its former managers asked Peddle to reopen it. Peddle paid for a subsidiary of Stevensons, called Pacer, to be formed to take this on. It ran until September 1992, when it was taken over by Potteries Motor Traction in exchange for Potteries' routes in Wolverhampton
.
In June 1994, following stiff competition with West Midlands Travel in the Black Country
, Staffordshire County Council announced that they intended to sell their share in Stevensons. By this point Stevensons owned 270 buses and were the largest independent bus operator in the United Kingdom. Peddle did not want to buy the Council's shares as this would have cost him £4.5 million, so he and David Stevenson instead agreed to sell the entire company to Drawlane's successor British Bus.
in February 1992. The company initially used the license of Tellings-Golden Miller
, a subsidiary of Midland Fox which owned the license of a defunct South Wales independent, CK Coaches. A second depot at Aberdare was also acquired but quickly sold on to Offer Demo, a company owned by Cynon Valley Travel which sold out to neighbouring Red & White Services
after a year. Western Travel, owners Red & White, was later sold a minority stake in Rhondda Buses.
Many of the players in the consortium were themselves sold to larger groups. Badgerline took over Potteries; Stagecoach Group
purchased Western Travel; and British Bus was taken over by Cowie Group in 1996. In December 1997 the entire company was taken over by Stagecoach, despite a rival bid from Badgerline's successor FirstGroup.
An unusual side-effect of Stevenson's involvement in Rhondda Buses saw Stevensons take a share in Edinburgh Transport in 1993. This was the bus division of Silver Coach Lines, a company run by the former manager of National Welsh's Barry depot. The operation was closed down in 1994 when GRT Group
took over two large operators in Edinburgh
, Lowland Scottish
and Midland Scottish
.
based Classic Coaches and smaller stakes in Burton's of Haverhill and The Linkline.
TGM joined Peddle's Status Group on its formation in 1999, and he continued to own 28% of the company even after Status was broken up. The company released 30% of its shares on the Alternative Investment Market
in 2003, and quickly bought the remaining shares in Burton's and The Linkline, as well as acquiring the former Arriva
operation in Colchester
. However, Peddle's share had reduced to just over 20% by April 2006 as much of the company had been released on AIM. He bought a further 50,000 shares in TGM in May 2006 and another 55,000 shares in October 2006.
In December 2007 Arriva
took over all of TGM including Peddle's shares for around £10.3 million.
In 1997 Peddle took over two former Cambus depots at Huntingdon
and Milton Keynes
. These had been acquired along with the rest of Cambus by Stagecoach Group
in 1995, but the Office of Fair Trading
had instructed Stagecoach to sell two depots to reduce its dominance in the region. They also stipulated that both depots must be sold to the same buyer. Peddle proved to be the only interested party and duly took over the operation in June 1997. The operations were quickly rebranded as MK Metro
in Milton Keynes and Premier Buses in Huntingdon. However, Peddle was unable to fund new vehicles for both, and sold Premier to Blazefield in 1998.
MK Metro was owned by Peddle for nine years, during which time passenger numbers increased by 120% and the company became profitable. Between 1998 and 2003 alone ridership rose by 63% following the introduction of new buses and ticketing schemes. However, Peddle ultimately sold the company to Arriva
in 2006, citing disagreement between authorities as a major factor.
Following Stevensons' sale Peddle had set up a company called Metropolitan Omnibus to run on many former Stevensons routes in the West Midlands. In 1997 Metropolitan was taken over by Choice Travel
, who Peddle bought a small share in. He also bought minority shares in BakerBus
and Burnley
-based Border Buses. All three of these companies joined Peddle's Status Bus & Coach on its formation in 1999, as did TGM and their subsidiaries Classic Coaches and Burton's, MK Metro and coach company The Londoners. The aim was to reduce costs by buying vehicles and supplies in bulk at cheaper costs while retaining local control. Few others agreed that this was practical and the group broke up, selling BakerBus to its management, Border Buses to Northern Blue
and closing The Londoners altogether.
In 2005 Choice Travel's managing director Tom Young wanted to retire, and with no obvious successor in the company it was decided to sell the company to independent D&G Bus, based in nearby Adderley Green
. However, in 2006 Peddle purchased a minority stake in D&G following the death of its co-founder Gerald Henderson. around the same time Peddle also bought a 30% stake in South Lancs Travel
.
-based operator Lutonian in partnership with Chris Day of Red Rose Travel. Lutonian had in fact been taken over by Arriva Shires & Essex
, but they had been forced to resell the company followign a ruling by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. The operation proved difficult to manage so the company was sold to Centrebus
, a large independent formed in 2001 with its headquarters in Leicester
. Peddle was impressed by the running of Centrebus and bought part of the company, which then began to grow rapidly. The St. Albans depot of Sovereign Bus & Coach was bought in 2004, although it was sold on to Uno
in 2008. The operations of MASS Engineering
in Grantham
were taken over in 2005, while Bowers Coaches
was acquired in 2007.
A further development came in 2008, when Centrebus teamed up with Arriva
to form Centrebus Holdings
. The new joint operation took over the Huddersfield
depot of Stagecoach Yorkshire
and local independent K-Line Travel. Centrebus had initially intended to buy K-Line, whose manager Russel Arden had previously run Edinburgh Transport during its time as a joint operation with Stevensons, while Arriva had wished to buy Stagecoach's operations in the town. Arriva took a 40% stake in the joint company, which paid around £3 million to buy the two companies and used the trading name Huddersfield Bus Company for the former Stagecoach operations.
In August 2008 Centrebus took over independent operator Woods, while Centrebus Holdings took over the Arriva Midlands
depot at Hinckley
. Some of the local routes operated by Woods were transferred to the joint operation.
, and preserved in the livery of Stevensons, with whom it operated during Peddle's time as manager.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
which included Choice Travel
Choice Travel
Midland, previously known as Choice Travel is a limited bus company operating mostly in the Wolverhampton area of the West Midlands. Some services also operate in the Staffordshire area.-History:...
, BakerBus
BakerBus
BakerBus is the trading name used by the bus fleet of Bakers Coaches, a bus and coach operator based in Biddulph, Staffordshire, England. They operate a fleet of around 50 vehicles on local bus services and coach hire work.-History:...
and MK Metro
MK Metro
MK Metro was the main bus operator in Milton Keynes in the English county of Buckinghamshire. In February 2006, it was purchased by Arriva Shires & Essex...
. He was a major shareholder in Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller , a subsidiary of Arriva, is a bus service and coach operator in the United Kingdom.-Golden Miller:Reputedly, Fred Varney began the Golden Miller company with the winnings from a bet made on the horse Golden Miller, which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in...
before its sale to Arriva.
Peddle's current investments include Centrebus
Centrebus
Centrebus is a privately owned company that operate a number of services around Leicester and Leicestershire, Grantham, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, mainly in areas where Arriva has scaled down its bus operations. Centrebus also competes with Arriva on some routes in Leicester, Luton and Stevenage...
and the related Centrebus Holdings
Centrebus Holdings
Centrebus Holdings is a bus company in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. It is a partnership between Arriva and Centrebus, created in May 2008 to purchase both K-Line Travel and Stagecoach Yorkshire's Huddersfield operations.-Stagecoach:...
, for both of which he holds the position of director, and minority shares in South Lancs Travel
South Lancs Travel
South Lancs Travel is a privately owned bus operator in the districts of Bolton and Wigan in Greater Manchester operating an extensive commercial network along with tendered services on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester. It also serves some areas of the districts of Salford & Trafford such...
and D&G Bus.
Early life
Peddle was born in Uxbridge but grew up in SloughSlough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
studied transport management at Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
, working for various National Bus Company subsidiaries during holidays. He joined the co-ordination staff of Staffordshire County Council in 1978, and after 15 months moved north to become traffic manager at 29-vehicle independent bus and coach operator Mayne's of Manchester. This proved impractical, however, so in March 1980 he moved back to Staffordshire to become traffic manager at Stevensons of Uttoxeter.
Stevensons
Peddle joined Stevensons as traffic manager in March 1980 following a job offer from the company's co-owner David Stevenson. He bought half of Stevensons on the retirement of the company's other co-owner, George Stevenson, in 1983. When Peddle joined the company they owned 33 vehicles of which four were service buses. Under Peddle's co-ownership Stevensons expanded quickly, launching a network of tendered services around UttoxeterUttoxeter
Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...
which required no public subsidy. They also took over two small operators, Middleton's of Rugeley
Rugeley
Rugeley is a historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the northern edge of Cannock Chase, and is situated roughly midway between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield and Uttoxeter...
and Erewash Travel Services, in the early 1980s; the latter was sold to Nottingham City Transport
Nottingham City Transport
Nottingham City Transport is the major bus operator of the English city of Nottingham, running a comprehensive network of services in the Greater Nottingham area, with some services continuing to Southwell, Loughborough, and East Midlands Airport. There are over 80 routes across the City, giving...
in 1988.
In 1985 Peddle wrote a letter to the chief executive of his former employer Staffordshire County Council suggesting that he was interested in merging Stevensons with the heavily loss-making council-owned East Staffordshire operation based in Burton-on-Trent. The council's transport manager agreed to this and the two companies merged in October 1985, with the council owning 49% and Peddle and Stevenson the remaining 51%. It initially faced competition from Midland Fox, but this ceased in August 1987 when Stevensons bought 40% of the company following its privatisation, with Peddle being appointed to Fox's board. Stevensons took over two depots as part of the deal. Peddle credits the large numbers of Daimler Fleetline
Daimler Fleetline
The Daimler Fleetline is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis built between 1960 and 1973 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and from 1973 until 1980 in Farington, Lancashire, England. However, the last complete vehicle did not enter service until 1983...
double-deckers bought from London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
with making this level of expansion possible, as they were cheap to buy and easy to run.
In 1989 Midland Fox was acquired by Drawlane. Fox's managing director, David Martin, arranged to move Peddle to another Drawlane subsidiary, Manchester-based Bee Line Buzz Company, for 12 months in an attempt to reduce losses there. During these 12 months Peddle was able to reduce average losses from £90000 to £3000 per month. In January 1991 Bee Line's depot in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
was closed by Drawlane. Two of its former managers asked Peddle to reopen it. Peddle paid for a subsidiary of Stevensons, called Pacer, to be formed to take this on. It ran until September 1992, when it was taken over by Potteries Motor Traction in exchange for Potteries' routes in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
.
In June 1994, following stiff competition with West Midlands Travel in the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
, Staffordshire County Council announced that they intended to sell their share in Stevensons. By this point Stevensons owned 270 buses and were the largest independent bus operator in the United Kingdom. Peddle did not want to buy the Council's shares as this would have cost him £4.5 million, so he and David Stevenson instead agreed to sell the entire company to Drawlane's successor British Bus.
Rhondda Buses
In December 1991 National Welsh collapsed. Stevensons, British Bus, Potteries and Peddle himself formed a consortium called Rhondda Buses to take over the former National Welsh depot at PorthPorth
Porth is a town and a community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Valley and is regarded as the gateway to the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach valleys because both valleys meet at Porth...
in February 1992. The company initially used the license of Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller , a subsidiary of Arriva, is a bus service and coach operator in the United Kingdom.-Golden Miller:Reputedly, Fred Varney began the Golden Miller company with the winnings from a bet made on the horse Golden Miller, which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in...
, a subsidiary of Midland Fox which owned the license of a defunct South Wales independent, CK Coaches. A second depot at Aberdare was also acquired but quickly sold on to Offer Demo, a company owned by Cynon Valley Travel which sold out to neighbouring Red & White Services
Red & White Services
Red & White Services was a bus company operating in south east Wales and Gloucestershire, England between 1929 and 1978.Red & White evolved into Red & White United Transport Ltd, formed in 1937, which owned bus and road freight companies in the United Kingdom and southern Africa...
after a year. Western Travel, owners Red & White, was later sold a minority stake in Rhondda Buses.
Many of the players in the consortium were themselves sold to larger groups. Badgerline took over Potteries; Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
purchased Western Travel; and British Bus was taken over by Cowie Group in 1996. In December 1997 the entire company was taken over by Stagecoach, despite a rival bid from Badgerline's successor FirstGroup.
An unusual side-effect of Stevenson's involvement in Rhondda Buses saw Stevensons take a share in Edinburgh Transport in 1993. This was the bus division of Silver Coach Lines, a company run by the former manager of National Welsh's Barry depot. The operation was closed down in 1994 when GRT Group
GRT Group
GRT Group plc was a bus operating company in the United Kingdom. Created in 1989 as a holding company to effect the buyout of Grampian Regional Transport , it grew by acquisition and in 1995 merged with Badgerline to create FirstBus plc, forerunner to worldwide transport company FirstGroup...
took over two large operators in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Lowland Scottish
Lowland Scottish
Lowland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operator in south eastern Scotland and parts of northern England. The company was formed in 1985 and operated under the identities Lowland Scottish, Lowland and First Lowland / First SMT, until 1999 when the company's operations were combined with the...
and Midland Scottish
Midland Scottish
Midland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Walter Alexander and Sons Ltd, and operated until 1991 when it became Midland Bluebird Ltd.- Operation :...
.
Tellings-Golden Miller
In 1993 British Bus wished to sell Tellings-Golden Miller (TGM), and because of Peddle's involvement with TGM during the Rhondda Buses venture its former owner Stephen Telling approached him with a view to reacquiring the company. Peddle agreed to fund the buyout and took a minority share in the company. He also provided the money for TGM's takeover of Annfield PlainAnnfield Plain
Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley, to the north-east, and Consett, to the west. According to the 2001 census, Annfield Plain has a population of 3,569. Along with much of the surrounding area, Annfield Plain's...
based Classic Coaches and smaller stakes in Burton's of Haverhill and The Linkline.
TGM joined Peddle's Status Group on its formation in 1999, and he continued to own 28% of the company even after Status was broken up. The company released 30% of its shares on the Alternative Investment Market
Alternative Investment Market
AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
in 2003, and quickly bought the remaining shares in Burton's and The Linkline, as well as acquiring the former Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
operation in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
. However, Peddle's share had reduced to just over 20% by April 2006 as much of the company had been released on AIM. He bought a further 50,000 shares in TGM in May 2006 and another 55,000 shares in October 2006.
In December 2007 Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
took over all of TGM including Peddle's shares for around £10.3 million.
Milton Keynes and Status Group
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
and Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
. These had been acquired along with the rest of Cambus by Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
in 1995, but the Office of Fair Trading
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
had instructed Stagecoach to sell two depots to reduce its dominance in the region. They also stipulated that both depots must be sold to the same buyer. Peddle proved to be the only interested party and duly took over the operation in June 1997. The operations were quickly rebranded as MK Metro
MK Metro
MK Metro was the main bus operator in Milton Keynes in the English county of Buckinghamshire. In February 2006, it was purchased by Arriva Shires & Essex...
in Milton Keynes and Premier Buses in Huntingdon. However, Peddle was unable to fund new vehicles for both, and sold Premier to Blazefield in 1998.
MK Metro was owned by Peddle for nine years, during which time passenger numbers increased by 120% and the company became profitable. Between 1998 and 2003 alone ridership rose by 63% following the introduction of new buses and ticketing schemes. However, Peddle ultimately sold the company to Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
in 2006, citing disagreement between authorities as a major factor.
Following Stevensons' sale Peddle had set up a company called Metropolitan Omnibus to run on many former Stevensons routes in the West Midlands. In 1997 Metropolitan was taken over by Choice Travel
Choice Travel
Midland, previously known as Choice Travel is a limited bus company operating mostly in the Wolverhampton area of the West Midlands. Some services also operate in the Staffordshire area.-History:...
, who Peddle bought a small share in. He also bought minority shares in BakerBus
BakerBus
BakerBus is the trading name used by the bus fleet of Bakers Coaches, a bus and coach operator based in Biddulph, Staffordshire, England. They operate a fleet of around 50 vehicles on local bus services and coach hire work.-History:...
and Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
-based Border Buses. All three of these companies joined Peddle's Status Bus & Coach on its formation in 1999, as did TGM and their subsidiaries Classic Coaches and Burton's, MK Metro and coach company The Londoners. The aim was to reduce costs by buying vehicles and supplies in bulk at cheaper costs while retaining local control. Few others agreed that this was practical and the group broke up, selling BakerBus to its management, Border Buses to Northern Blue
Northern Blue
Transdev Northern Blue was a bus operator running around Burnley in East Lancashire. The company operated many school routes, along with a small number of commercial and subsidised bus services...
and closing The Londoners altogether.
In 2005 Choice Travel's managing director Tom Young wanted to retire, and with no obvious successor in the company it was decided to sell the company to independent D&G Bus, based in nearby Adderley Green
Adderley Green
Adderley Green is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is included in the township of Longton. It was a center for mining activities in the 19th century....
. However, in 2006 Peddle purchased a minority stake in D&G following the death of its co-founder Gerald Henderson. around the same time Peddle also bought a 30% stake in South Lancs Travel
South Lancs Travel
South Lancs Travel is a privately owned bus operator in the districts of Bolton and Wigan in Greater Manchester operating an extensive commercial network along with tendered services on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester. It also serves some areas of the districts of Salford & Trafford such...
.
Centrebus
In 2000 Peddle purchased LutonLuton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
-based operator Lutonian in partnership with Chris Day of Red Rose Travel. Lutonian had in fact been taken over by Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
, but they had been forced to resell the company followign a ruling by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. The operation proved difficult to manage so the company was sold to Centrebus
Centrebus
Centrebus is a privately owned company that operate a number of services around Leicester and Leicestershire, Grantham, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, mainly in areas where Arriva has scaled down its bus operations. Centrebus also competes with Arriva on some routes in Leicester, Luton and Stevenage...
, a large independent formed in 2001 with its headquarters in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. Peddle was impressed by the running of Centrebus and bought part of the company, which then began to grow rapidly. The St. Albans depot of Sovereign Bus & Coach was bought in 2004, although it was sold on to Uno
Uno (bus company)
Uno is a bus service operated by the University of Hertfordshire, England, serving members of the general public, and also its own students and staff...
in 2008. The operations of MASS Engineering
MASS Engineering
MASS Engineering and BrightBus, which is officially MAS Special Engineering Ltd, is a Sheffield-based company engaged in the manufacture of bodies for motor vehicles and school bus operation...
in Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
were taken over in 2005, while Bowers Coaches
Bowers Coaches
Eric W. Bowers Coaches Limited trading as Bowers is a bus operator based in the High Peak district of Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. It is currently a subsidiary of the Centrebus Group, having been so since 2007, and prior to that an independent family business...
was acquired in 2007.
A further development came in 2008, when Centrebus teamed up with Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
to form Centrebus Holdings
Centrebus Holdings
Centrebus Holdings is a bus company in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. It is a partnership between Arriva and Centrebus, created in May 2008 to purchase both K-Line Travel and Stagecoach Yorkshire's Huddersfield operations.-Stagecoach:...
. The new joint operation took over the Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
depot of Stagecoach Yorkshire
Stagecoach Yorkshire
Stagecoach Yorkshire is an operating division of Stagecoach UK Bus.It was formed in 2005 to take over the former Traction Group fleets in Yorkshire by Stagecoach Group, which took over Traction from Frank Carter on 14 December 2005; Yorkshire Traction, Yorkshire Terrier and Barnsley & District....
and local independent K-Line Travel. Centrebus had initially intended to buy K-Line, whose manager Russel Arden had previously run Edinburgh Transport during its time as a joint operation with Stevensons, while Arriva had wished to buy Stagecoach's operations in the town. Arriva took a 40% stake in the joint company, which paid around £3 million to buy the two companies and used the trading name Huddersfield Bus Company for the former Stagecoach operations.
In August 2008 Centrebus took over independent operator Woods, while Centrebus Holdings took over the Arriva Midlands
Arriva Midlands
Arriva Midlands is a division of Arriva. It operates bus services around the Midlands area of England and is made up of various previous bus operators.-Arriva Midlands North:...
depot at Hinckley
Hinckley
Hinckley is a town in southwest Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 43,246 . It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council...
. Some of the local routes operated by Woods were transferred to the joint operation.
Preserved vehicles
Peddle owns preserved Leyland PD3 PAX466F with lowbridge Massey bodywork, new to Bedwas & Machen UDC, later operated by Rhymney ValleyRhymney Valley (district)
Rhymney Valley was one of six local government districts in Mid Glamorgan from 1974 to 1996.The district was formed from areas in the administrative counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire...
, and preserved in the livery of Stevensons, with whom it operated during Peddle's time as manager.