North Western Road Car Company (1986) - Cowie Group and Consolidation

Cowie Group and Consolidation

In June 1994 North Western's parent British Bus Ltd was acquired by the Cowie Group plc. Along with much of the bus industry it was to enter a period of consolidation which saw it acquire further bus operators in the North West of England which included:

• 'Little White Bus' - Acquired in 1994/95 and an operator of minibus services in the West Lancashire towns of Ormskirk and Skelmersdale.
• Lofty's - Acquired in 1994/95 although they were based some distance away from North Western's core operations in the Mickle Trafford, near Chester.
• 'South Lancashire Transport' - Acquired in 1997 they were one of the major independent operators in the Merseyside town of St. Helens.
• Star Line Travel - Acquired in 1994/95 they were a Knutsford based operator who had built up a substantial network of services in Altrincham and Sale - exactly within the operating area of North Western's Bee Line subsidiary.
• Wigan Bus Company - Acquired in the Summer of 1995 and one of the major independent operators in the town.

In 1995 North Western also entered into a series of gentleman's agreements with other bus companies in the North West of England. The first of these was to share Merseyside's bus market with its largest operator, MTL Trust Holding's Ltd, from which wasteful competition would be eliminated by co-ordinating the services. The second was a direct consequence of its acquisition of the Wigan Bus Company. GM Buses North had some peripheral services linking Wigan and Leigh to St Helens and Warrington and decided to pass these routes to North Western's Wigan Bus in return for North Western giving up its town-based services in Wigan. These and other agreements were subject to a 1995/96 Monopolies & Mergers Commission study which found MTL, GM Buses North/South, North Western and other Merseyside bus operators guilty of collusion, and in breach of fair trade in all the parties involved were fined accordingly.