Go-Ahead expands into the Cotswolds with Pulham & Sons acquisition

Credit: Go-Ahead Group

The Go-Ahead Group has announced that it has acquired Pulham & Sons (Coaches) Limited, a family-owned bus and coach operator in the Cotswolds. Pulhams, with its 90 buses and coaches and 126 employees, has been serving communities in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. It will now join Go-Ahead’s Oxford Bus Company division, which includes Thames Travel, Carousel Buses, City Sightseeing Oxford and the Oxford Bus Company.

Pulhams, based in Bourton-on-the-Water, holds both DVSA Earned Recognition and Guild of British Coach Operators accreditation. The acquisition will enhance Go-Ahead’s presence in the west, improve connectivity between Pulhams’ services and Go-Ahead’s wider network, and expand the company’s coaching operations.

Go-Ahead is committed to investing and expanding in regional buses in the UK as part of its business strategy, The Next Billion Journeys. This acquisition marks the company’s third purchase in a year, following Dartline in Devon and Southdown Buses in West Sussex. With nine bus divisions operating over 6,000 buses, Go-Ahead serves routes across the country from Cornwall to Northumberland.

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Luke Marion, Managing Director of the Oxford Bus Company, said: “Pulhams’ buses and coaches are familiar and well loved in communities throughout the Cotswolds. The business links nicely with our existing services in Oxfordshire and surrounding counties, and helps us to diversify our business further into new market segments.”

Andrew Pulham, Managing Director of Pulhams Coaches said: “Go-Ahead’s commitment to invest in the Pulhams’ business as we look towards decarbonisation of our fleets is welcome and I look forward to learning from the group’s experience in this area.”

Christian Schreyer, Group Chief Executive of The Go-Ahead Group, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Pulhams into the group. At Go-Ahead, we see many opportunities to expand in Britain’s bus industry, as the country moves towards a net zero future in which people leave their cars at home in favour of public transport.”