Purchase of Ensignbus by FirstGroup in 2023 was one of the industry’s most seismic developments of recent years. Under family ownership, the award-winning Purfleet business had grown a first-class reputation for bus service delivery in challenging conditions, and its dealership and workshop functions were trusted by operators far and wide. Community engagement was another strong point.
Continuing in the same vein was always going to be a challenge. While previous owners the Newman family stepped away, the rest of Ensign’s management team stayed. They now report to Garry Nicholass, who stepped into leading the business having been First Essex Commercial Director since April 2021.
Garry is heavily invested in Ensign. While his career prior to First was with Transport for London (TfL) and then Stagecoach, his early years in coach and bus were within the SME segment.
They began with Metrobus, then an independent before purchase by Go-Ahead, and Garry began an earlier stint with Ensign in 2004, staying until 2007. During that period, he played a part in establishing the operator’s bus network and became close friends with Ross Newman.
Ensignbus: A good business to go further under FirstGroup
The good state of Ensign means that little improvement is needed. Garry views himself as overseer of the legacy management team; it is well able to deal with complex operational demands often created by the nearby Dartford Crossing and short-notice rail replacement services, while the engineering function is a finely functioning machine that is bringing on keen younger staff.
Instead, Garry interprets his role as one of fostering development of the existing business. Adjacent First East of England has introduced commercial initiatives on its urban services and it can work closely with Ensign.
The dealership has largely continued as-is. He sees the opportunity to grow that business with more vehicles and sales as significant, as scope to carry out more engineering work is crystallising.
“I meet twice a week with the six leaders who came with the business. Their job is to keep the plates spinning; mine it to help them do so, and not tell them which ones to spin.” Such an approach does not preclude change, Garry continues. He cites a minor alteration to livery as an example; silver has given way to grey. When panel replacement is necessary, the latter is much easier to match.
“I have a people, planet, profit approach to change. When we discuss altering something, does it benefit at least two of those? If it does, we keep talking. If it does not, we stop.”
Learning underway from its new owner
Despite the Ensign operation being adjacent to the larger First East of England business, there has been no attempt to amalgamate the two, although integrating certain aspects of the customer offer, such as ticket interavailability and other optimisation, began rapidly and Garry expects similar ‘quick wins’ to follow.
In Piers Marlow, Ensign has a common Managing Director with First East of England. “But we are a sister company to First East of England,” Garry notes. “We share an MD because Piers is vastly experienced, whereas my knowledge is on the commercial side. More informally, if First East of England has a problem at Lakeside, we will attend. When we have a large rail replacement job, we call on colleagues in First.”
Where Garry believes Ensign can learn from First is in commercial planning. Except for one route into Kent, the Thurrock network is compact. On a similar web of routes in Basildon operated by First, success was seen with a simplified approach to fares and a focusing of peak resource where it is most needed. Any change to Ensign routes will not necessarily follow that, but the theory may transfer.
Some amendments are currently on the drawing board pending clarity on the future of the £2 bus fare cap. Garry believes that the Ensign network could benefit from a flat fare; it removes confusion over what is charged and sits well with tap on/tap off contactless capping that will come later.
Where a flat fare should be set remains to be decided, but Thurrock passengers have typically benefitted from cheaper bus travel than is often the case in comparable areas. Garry is mindful of the impact on ‘short hop’ flows, but in Basildon a flat fare combined with focus on peak flows delivered results and demand rose. “Simplifying and demystifying bus services is key,” he says, adding that operators have sufficient data to enable the delivery of such a shift.
Imperative to maintaining Ensign’s presence in the community is its charitable work and other engagements with local organisations and businesses. “We have made the decision to continue those and keep ‘under the skin’ of Thurrock,” Garry continues.
He cites the ‘Santa bus’ that was long operated under the previous owners as an example of that. “I was not sure about it at first, but we did it in 2023 to understand it. Based on what we saw, we will continue each year, and possibly start earlier.”
A slightly different approach to giveaways to children was taken, but the success in community uptake was clear. Work with Aveley Football Club is underway, and Garry is in discussion with an outside body around engagement work with the bus operator’s customers and staff.
Ensignbus dealership activities secure under FirstGroup
While plans for the bus network are still developing, Ensign’s dealership and engineering capacities are equally important. First is committed to both, including heavier work on used buses that the business delivered under Newman family ownership.
“Our message to operators is clear: Ensign wants to talk to anyone seeking to sell or buy second-hand vehicles, as we always did,” Garry says.
Collaboration with leasing companies continues, as does engagement with smaller operators looking for used stock. “The days when a large group may have come here wanting 30 mid-life diesel double-deckers are largely gone, so the sales operation is even more about SME customers.”
He adds that with freeing of further workshop space, scope exists to leverage relationships with other First Bus companies. Under new ownership, Ensign has carried out vehicle refurbishment in preparation for the Bee Network in Greater Manchester, and it has undertaken hand-back preparation on buses returned off-lease. Ensign also acts as an outlet for surplus vehicles with second life scope.
“We are a business; I might offer a price for the vehicle and we get it, or it could go for scrap. The use we have for second-hand buses is not only in bringing them in and selling them on as is. If there is a reason for taking it to Purfleet, doing something to add value and then moving it on, we will act on that.”
Scope for operational growth too?
On operational expansion, Purfleet’s position within the M25 leaves one obvious question. Garry answers in the negative; there is no current interest in bidding for TfL red bus work in the wider area, although he is careful to note that Ensign will look at any opportunity for growth.
Instead, rail replacement and private hire is viewed as the area where operational widening is most likely, although further embedding the local service network into the Thurrock fabric is also seen as a focus.
First Bus already has a strong involvement in rail replacement via First Travel Solutions. It also has a building private hire and B2B base, but Ensign’s plans for growth in those fields centre on high capacity, with the BCI fleet – including its tri-axles – to remain for as long as they are needed.
“We can usefully move a lot of people, be it children, a corporate job or rail replacement,” says Garry. “We do quite a lot of private hire and we are good at it, so we will be doing more.” Whether Ensign enters coach operation is a grey area, although he adds that should a sound business decision make that worthwhile, it would be examined.
As a long-term thinker, Garry has the time and the freedom to oversee further development of Ensignbus. The industry stopped and looked when FirstGroup announced its intent to purchase the Purfleet business. With the right new ideas complemented by expertise learned during Ensign’s time in private ownership, it appears that the Newman family legacy is secure.
