Eastbourne Buses - Sale To Stagecoach

Sale To Stagecoach

In early November 2008, local press reports had indicated that the company was to be sold by the end of the year to either the Go-Ahead Group or Stagecoach Group. The employees' trade union, Unite, wrote to Eastbourne Borough Council to ask the Council to sell to the Go-Ahead Group, because of work conditions and a superior fleet.

On 25 November 2008, it was announced that Stagecoach was the preferred bidder. On December 18, 2008, Stagecoach took control of the Birch Road Depot.

It is not the first time Stagecoach have run services in Eastbourne. They had run services until late in 2000 before they were withdrawn. They still operate services to Hastings and Bexhill from Eastbourne.

The sale has caused considerable controversy, with MPs criticising the secrecy surrounding the sale and blaming each others' parties for the state the Eastbourne Buses got into, the Liberal Democrats claiming the Conservatives "failed to support Eastbourne Buses".

There has also been criticism of the low sale price for the company - revealed at £3.7 million, lower than the original report of 4 - and criticism of Stagecoach, one MP saying that the company has effectively been "given away for nothing" However, it was revealed that Go-Ahead had bid much lower at £2.85 million, so the council was forced to sell to Stagecoach, despite the union's calls.

In April 2007 the company nearly had to close as it was unable to pay for fuel. At that stage it was inevitable that the company would soon have to be sold.

In January 2009, rival company Cavendish Motor Services was also bought by the Stagecoach Group, making both companies one. Because of this, each company now accepts the other's tickets.

The Eastbourne Buses name was discontinued on 8 March 2009, with operations rebranded as Stagecoach in Eastbourne, which is now under the East Sussex operations of Stagecoach UK Bus.