Rotala acquires First Group's Worcestershire bus operations

Rotala has acquired certain of First Group's bus operations in Worcestershire for a cash consideration of 1.5m pounds, according to a trading update posted on Thursday.The company will acquire two freehold depots, one in Kidderminster and the other in Redditch, 36 vehicles, and various items of plant and equipment and will continue to run the services that First currently operates from these depots. The Kidderminster depot comprises a site of two acres which can accommodate up to 60 vehicles, while the Redditch depot, built about 35 years ago, can accommodate about 50 vehicles. In the year ending June 30th 2012, the depots reported combined revenues of approximately £5.2m and an operating loss of £0.27m. They employ about 120 staff collectively. Rotala announced that the acquisition would enable the company to expand and consolidate its position in the areas of Worcestershire, which were contiguous to its main areas of operation in the Birmingham conurbation. By integrating the acquired depots into its current depot network, it stated that it would be able to take advantage of operating efficiencies generated by the acquisition. There was no change in Rotala's share price at 44.50p at 09:50 on Thursday.MF