FirstGroup (FGP)

Sector:

Commercial Transport

Index:

FTSE 250

133.30p
   
  • Change Today:
    -1.90p
  • 52 Week High: 187.70p
  • 52 Week Low: 133.10p
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 615.47m
  • Volume: 1,581,365
  • Market Cap: £820.42m
  • RiskGrade: 282

FirstGroup's Avanti told to improve West Coast service after deal extension

By Frank Prenesti

Date: Friday 07 Oct 2022

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Transport operator FirstGroup has been told its struggling Avanti West Coast operation must "drastically" improve services after being awarded a six-month extension to its contract by the UK government.
Avanti West Coast is operating under an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement introduced to support it during the Covid pandemic. The train company last month asked the government ministers to relieve it from performance target deadlines, as it was hit by driver shortages.

The contract extension, which was due to expire on 16 October, will run broadly under the same terms. Avanti runs trains between London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Avanti came under fire for poor services after it slashed the number of trains between London and Manchester to only one an hour and releasing tickets only a few days in advance.

UK Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said Avanti's performance had been "unacceptable" and it "must do more to deliver certainty of service to its passengers".

Opposition Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham have called for Avanti to lose its contract unless it increased services.

"We are committed to working closely with government and our partners across the industry to deliver a successful railway that serves the needs of our customers and communities" said, FirstGroup chief executive Graham Sutherland.

FirstGroup, which owns Avanti West Coast in a joint venture with Italy's Trenitalia, has said it plans to increase services from about 180 trains a day to 264 on weekdays as more drivers become available. It has also said it will improve ticketing services.

However, the extension was slammed by Burnham, who said the "lack of an acceptable rescue plan from the company - and clear conditions from the Government - means very few people in Greater Manchester will support this extension".

"The damage that Avanti's failing service is inflicting on our economy, and the huge disruption to passengers, is completely unacceptable. The company has shown itself to be unable to stabilise their service and fix problems with ticketing and the on-board experience for passengers."

"The thought of another six months of what we're currently experiencing is a huge concern."

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh meanwhile described the extension of the contract as a "slap in the face for passengers".

"This failing operator has caused travel misery, and the government's answer is to hand over millions more in taxpayers' cash and consign passengers to another six months of chaos. If the government had any interest in doing their job, they would strip this failing operator of the contract and finally put passengers first."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

FirstGroup Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 133.30p
Change Today -1.90p
% Change -1.41 %
52 Week High 187.70p
52 Week Low 133.10p
Volume 1,581,365
Shares Issued 615.47m
Market Cap £820.42m
RiskGrade 282

FirstGroup Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
11.07% below the market average11.07% below the market average11.07% below the market average11.07% below the market average11.07% below the market average
81.82% below the sector average81.82% below the sector average81.82% below the sector average81.82% below the sector average81.82% below the sector average
Price Trend
25.34% below the market average25.34% below the market average25.34% below the market average25.34% below the market average25.34% below the market average
63.64% below the sector average63.64% below the sector average63.64% below the sector average63.64% below the sector average63.64% below the sector average
Income
62.25% above the market average62.25% above the market average62.25% above the market average62.25% above the market average62.25% above the market average
60.00% above the sector average60.00% above the sector average60.00% above the sector average60.00% above the sector average60.00% above the sector average
Growth
24.36% above the market average24.36% above the market average24.36% above the market average24.36% above the market average24.36% above the market average
9.09% below the sector average9.09% below the sector average9.09% below the sector average9.09% below the sector average9.09% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 4
Buy 0
Neutral 2
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0
Total 6
buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

FirstGroup Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Final Interim
Ex-Div 18-Jul-24 30-Nov-23
Paid 23-Aug-24 03-Jan-24
Amount 4.00p 1.50p

Trades for 31-Oct-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
16:55 44,372 @ 134.59p
16:55 291,031 @ 133.57p
16:35 970,885 @ 133.30p
16:35 8,102 @ 133.30p
16:35 770 @ 133.30p

FirstGroup Key Personnel

CFO Ryan Mangold
Chair Peter Lynas
CEO Graham Sutherland

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