Firstgroup Regulatory News (FGP)

FIRSTGROUP PLC - Directorate Changes

PR Newswire

London, November 13

FIRSTGROUP PLCDIRECTORATE CHANGES

FirstGroup plc (‘FirstGroup’ or the ‘Group’), a leading provider of transport services in the UK and North America, has appointed Matthew Gregory as Chief Executive with immediate effect.

In addition to his role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Group Matthew has been performing the role of Interim Chief Operating Officer (COO), with the operating divisions reporting directly to him, since May 2018. Following this appointment, Chairman Wolfhart Hauser will revert to his non-executive Chairman role.

The Group also announces today that Steve Gunning has been appointed to the Board as an independent Non-Executive Director, with effect from 1 January 2019.

Commenting FirstGroup Chairman Wolfhart Hauser said:

"Since his appointment as Interim COO in May, Matthew has demonstrated the combination of strong leadership skills and strategic decisiveness, which has allowed us to make progress in a number of key areas. Having conducted a thorough selection process, which considered external and internal candidates, the Board unanimously concluded that Matthew is the right person to take on the role of Chief Executive. Matthew’s comprehensive knowledge of the Group, his experience in previous roles and leadership capabilities are precisely the qualities needed to drive the Group’s value mobilisation strategy at pace, and I look forward to the Group making further progress under Matthew's leadership.

“I am also delighted to welcome Steve Gunning to the Board of FirstGroup as a non-executive director. Steve’s extensive financial and operational expertise, and knowledge from his senior roles at British Airways, one of the most important customer brands in transport, will be of immense value to the Group.”

Matthew Gregory said:

"It’s a great honour to lead FirstGroup and our 100,000 employees who are relied upon by millions of customers across the UK and North America each day. I believe we are now in a better position to make the most of our opportunities and create a stronger business for the future. I am committed to delivering on our plans to improve our offering, increasing ease and convenience for customers, and creating sustainable value for shareholders.”

Background

Matthew Gregory was appointed Interim COO of FirstGroup on 31 May 2018, having joined as CFO in December 2015. He joined the Group from Essentra plc, where he was Group Finance Director for nearly three years, having previously been Director of Corporate Development as well as performing a number of senior finance roles. Matthew has strong financial and operational expertise, including strategic and financial planning and control, as well as extensive international experience of driving performance improvement and restructuring. His early career was spent at Rank Group plc and Ernst & Young.

To ensure the continuation of strong financial leadership and control, Nick Chevis, who is Director of Finance, will become Interim CFO, with immediate effect. In this capacity he will attend the Board, but will not be appointed as an Executive Director. The process is underway to recruit a permanent CFO.

Steve Gunning has served in increasingly senior financial and operational roles at British Airways, part of the International Airlines Group (IAG), since 1998. Since 2016 he has served as Chief Financial Officer of British Airways. Prior to this Steve was CEO of the IAG Cargo division for five years. During his career Steve has gained considerable experience leading operational turnarounds, major corporate integration processes and complex pension negotiations. Steve qualified as a Chartered Accountant at PwC.

Other disclosures

The Group's 2018 Annual Report, inclusive of the directors' remuneration report, was published prior to the appointment of Matthew Gregory as Chief Executive. A summary of the remuneration arrangements for Matthew upon his appointment as Chief Executive is provided below for information.

Since appointment as Interim COO in addition to his role as CFO, Matthew has received a base salary of £500,000 per annum. On appointment to the position of Chief Executive, Matthew will receive a base salary of £635,000 per annum and a pension contribution of 15% of salary.

Matthew’s annual bonus opportunity of 150% and long-term incentive awards of 200% will be in accordance with the Group's remuneration policy, which was approved by shareholders in July 2018. Matthew will be subject to the shareholding guideline of 200% of salary for the Chief Executive and he will required to retain at least 75% of any shares, net of tax, vesting under a Group share incentive plan until the shareholding guideline is met. Matthew will also be eligible for benefits in line with the approved Policy. Full details will be provided in the Group's 2019 Annual Report.

Wolfhart Hauser’s additional fees for performing his interim executive responsibilities since May 2018, the majority of which he has used each month to purchase shares in the company, will now cease. He now reverts to his role as non-executive Chairman and, accordingly, his fees will return to the level prior to his assuming executive responsibilities.

Contacts at FirstGroup:

Faisal Tabbah, Head of Investor Relations

Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Media

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7725 3354

Contacts at Brunswick PR:

Andrew Porter / Alison Lea, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959

About FirstGroup

FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading provider of transport services in the UK and North America. With £6.4 billion in revenue and around 100,000 employees, we transported 2.1 billion passengers last year. Whether for business, education, health, social or recreation – we get our customers where they want to be, when they want to be there. We create solutions that reduce complexity, making travel smoother and life easier.

We provide easy and convenient mobility, improving quality of life by connecting people and communities.

Each of our five divisions is a leader in its field: In North America, First Student is the largest provider of home-to-school student transportation with a fleet of 42,500 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest providers of outsourced transit management and contracting services, while Greyhound is the only nationwide operator of scheduled intercity coaches. In the UK, First Bus is one of Britain's largest bus companies with 1.6 million passengers a day, and First Rail is one of the country's largest and most experienced rail operators, carrying more than 260 million passengers last year.

Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us @firstgroupplc on Twitter.

This announcement is made pursuant to Listing Rule 9.6.11R. There are no other details required to be disclosed under Listing Rule 9.6.13R. Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR 6 Annex 1R: 3.1. The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of FirstGroup is Michael Hampson, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary.