Firstgroup Regulatory News (FGP)

FIRSTGROUP PLC - Directorate Change

PR Newswire

London, January 21

FIRSTGROUP PLC

DIRECTORATE CHANGE

FirstGroup plc ('FirstGroup' or 'the Company') announces that Claire Hawkings has been appointed to the Board as an independent Non-Executive Director with effect from 21 January 2022.

Claire has more than 30 years’ business experience and has held UK and international leadership positions, most recently with Tullow Oil plc, and prior to that with BG Group plc and British Gas plc. As a qualified environmental scientist and an experienced environmental, social and governance ('ESG') professional, Claire has expertise in a range of issues including sustainability strategy, governance, business transformation, commercial transactions, performance management, and energy transition.

Claire is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the ESG Committee of Ibstock plc, a Non-Executive Director of James Fisher and Sons plc and a Non-Executive Director of Defence Equipment and Support, a bespoke trading entity and arm's length body of the Ministry of Defence.

Claire will chair the newly established Responsible Business Committee of the Board, which will focus on the Group’s sustainability matters as well as encompassing the responsibilities of the Board Safety Committee. She has also been appointed as a member of the Audit Committee.

Commenting, David Martin, Executive Chairman said:

"I am delighted to welcome Claire to the Board. Her wealth of knowledge and experience across several disciplines and sectors will complement those of our existing directors. Her appointment comes at an important time for FirstGroup as we progress the opportunities and responsibilities we have as a critical enabler of society’s sustainability goals, and I am confident Claire will make a valuable contribution. We will continue to oversee an orderly evolution of the Board to ensure it has the right balance of skills, experience and diversity for the Group’s future needs."

FirstGroup also announces that David Isenegger has stepped down as Company Secretary with effect from 21 January 2022. FirstGroup Deputy Company Secretary Julia Crane has been appointed to the role on an interim basis until 1 April 2022 when David Blizzard joins the Group as Company Secretary. David has held a number of senior company secretarial positions including at Signature Aviation plc, Barclays plc and PwC.

This announcement is made pursuant to Listing Rule 9.6.11R.

Notes

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR 6 Annex 1R: 3.1.

FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading private sector provider of public transport services. With £4.3 billion in revenue and around 30,000 employees, our UK divisions transported nearly 700,000 passengers a day in the 52 weeks to 27 March 2021. First Bus is the second largest regional bus operator in the UK, serving two-thirds of the UK’s 15 largest conurbations with a fleet of c.5,000 buses. First Rail is the UK’s largest rail operator, with many years of experience running long-distance, commuter, regional and sleeper rail services. We operate a fleet of c.3,750 rail vehicles through four management fee-based train operating companies (Avanti, GWR, SWR, TPE) and two open access routes (Hull Trains and Lumo, our new East Coast service which launched in October 2021). We create solutions that reduce complexity, making travel smoother and life easier. Our businesses are at the heart of our communities and the essential services we provide are critical to delivering wider economic, social and environmental goals. We are formally committed to operating a zero-emission First Bus fleet by 2035 and to cease purchasing further diesel buses after 2022; and First Rail will help support the UK Government’s goal to remove all diesel-only trains from service by 2040. Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us @firstgroupplc on Twitter.