Bus industry entrepreneur Bill Hiron has sold Eastern Transport Holdings, the parent of bus operators Stephensons and NIBS, to an employee trust
Bill Hiron: ‘the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea’
Eastern Transport Holdings, the parent company of bus operators Stephensons of Essex and NIBS Buses, has been sold to an Employee Ownership Trust by proprietor Bill Hiron.
Following the completion of the ownership transfer on October 27, Hiron continues as chairman under Eastern Transport Holdings’ new structure alongside an essentially unchanged leadership team. Dean Robbie remains managing director, Gary Raven continues as finance director, and Mark Sayer has moved into the newly created role of engineering director. He previously served as a fleet engineer.
Hiron acquired Stephensons in 2001 after leaving a senior role with FirstGroup. Since then, the business has grown significantly under his leadership, including the acquisition of NIBS Buses in 2018. Stephensons, founded in 1972 with a single coach, operated mainly from its Rochford base until Hiron’s purchase. It has since expanded with multiple depots and now operates routes extending from Essex into Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.
Today, the wider business, now under the umbrella of Eastern Transport Holdings, has an annual turnover of £16m, a fleet of 140 buses, and employs 200 staff, collectively serving nearly four million passengers annually. The sale excludes Galloway Travel Group, which is not part of this transaction.
Hiron told Passenger Transport there were several reasons behind the move. Firstly, he was now at the age where he wanted to wind down a little, but he also saw the structure of the wider industry changing significantly over the next few years.
I’m a child of deregulation. I started my first proper job in September 1986, and deregulation happened a month later
“I’m a child of deregulation,” he said. “I started my first proper job in September 1986, and deregulation happened a month later. We’re moving to a more contracted environment – there’s nothing wrong with that, and I say that as someone who has run London bus contracts in the past, but it’s not what interests me. I’m an entrepreneur at heart.”
Hiron said the business was also now at the size where the options to sell it were limited. “It’s not like you’re selling a corner shop,” he said. He was also particularly concerned about the company’s unique culture being disrupted if he sold Eastern Transport Holdings to a major group.
“Part of the business’s success has been down to the culture we’ve created,” Hiron said. “When the big groups acquire an independent operator, they always say they will keep the culture, but it never happens. I was really keen to avoid that.”
He had mulled the options over the last year. Several months ago, an Employee Ownership Trust was suggested as a potential solution
to his quandary.
It seemed only right and fair that the people who had helped build the business should be the ones to benefit
“I had dismissed it, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea,” Hiron said. “It seemed only right and fair that the people who had helped build the business should be the ones to benefit.”
Since last weekend, the business has been employee-owned, with all shares held in trust on behalf of the employees. Three trustees have been appointed, comprising Hiron, an employee representative, and an independent chairperson. The ownership structure gives staff a stake in the business without personal risk or expense. Ayrshire-based Shuttle Buses is believed to be the only other UK bus operator with such a unique ownership structure.
Hiron reported a very positive reception to the move from staff. He also expected it would assist with recruitment and retention efforts in the future.
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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The post Employees are owners of Stephensons parent first appeared on Passenger Transport.