Powells Bus purchase takes HCT into South Yorkshire

摘要

HCT Group has completed its first acquisition of a commercial bus operator with the purchase of Rotherham-based Powells Bus.The deal, concluded on 24 July for an undisclosed sum, is the first since the London-based community interest company secured £17.8million of funding to buy commercial operators and turn them into social enterprises, investing part of their profits in the communities they serve.Powells, with a fleet of around 30 vehiclesproviding local routes, school transport and private hires in the Rotherham and Doncaster areas, takes the combined HCT business -originally Hackney Community Transport - up to around 760 vehicles with 14 depots in Yorkshire, London, Bristol, Jersey and Guernsey. It already has operations in West Yorkshire and Hull.