FirstGroup has agreed the sale of assets to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) for £109m.

The agreement covers five freehold depots and fixed assets within the depot, as well as a bus fleet, which includes 251 diesel vehicles and 79 electric vehicles.

The depot sales have been completed and the fleet sales will occur as the three WYCA franchise tranches go live, currently planned for May 2027, January and October 2028. First Bus will continue to run existing commercial bus routes up to the date of the franchise commencement at the respective depots.

The group anticipates a post-tax disposal gain of around £30m in relation to the completed depot sales that will be treated as an adjusting item for the purposes of its FY2027 adjusted operating profit and earnings per share.

The sale comes as FirstGroup was awarded two bus franchise contracts in Bramley and Huddersfield, where it currently operates, as part of the first of three tranches of WYCA’s franchise programme.

Following the update, shares in FirstGroup increased by 4.8%.

CEO at FirstGroup, Graham Sutherland, stated: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with regards to the sale of our assets and secured these important franchise contracts. We look forward to drawing on our scale, expertise and strong operational track record to deliver high-quality, sustainable bus services in partnership with the WYCA."

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