Roberts Travel: looking beyond the industry for leadership talent

Roberts Travel Group’s approach of appointing external management talent is reaping dividends

What began as a way for keen skier Jonathan Hunt to enjoy more time on the Alpine slopes has, more than three decades later, grown into one of the Midlands’ largest coach operators.

Roberts Travel Group founder Jonathan started in the industry as a bus driver in Australia and later drove a few ski trips for Aston’s Coaches in Worcester, enjoying time in the mountains himself while there.

He recalls: “I thought, ‘How do I get to do more skiing? Buy a bus and do ski holidays.’ I bought a bus and did three or four ski holidays in the first season. Then all the work came back the following year, so [I got a] second bus and a first employee. From there on, you don’t look back really.”

The private hire side of the business grew out of those ski trips until 2005, when its holiday programme, directed by Margaret Bunker, began.

How do I get to do more skiing? Buy a bus and do ski holidays – Jonathan Hunt

From four holidays in that year, the annual output has grown to more than 200, along with over 400 day trips.

The Leicestershire-based operator, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, now has more than 100 vehicles.

Its first holiday departure lounge was opened in 2009, and last year saw the completion of its upgraded passenger waiting area at its Coalville depot.

The growth has come partly via acquisitions of Paul James Coaches in 2011 and Macpherson Coaches in 2018.

Gaining the contract to operate park-and-ride services for Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council in 2011 meant Roberts Travel had to approximately double the size of its fleet.

Alex Niemczyk is recent MD appointment

Another pivotal moment in the business’s history was taking on Alex Niemczyk as Managing Director in 2023, with Jonathan moving into the role of Chair. Alex had previously worked in business development for online car marketplace Cinch.

Employing someone new to the industry in such a key role was a deliberate strategy from Jonathan, who explains: “Most of our appointments at senior level are from outside the industry – I wouldn’t say purposely initially – but they certainly are now.”

The external appointments also include Commercial Director Sally Walder, who was a General Manager within the NEC Group.

Most of our appointments at senior level are from outside the industry – Jonathan Hunt

Learning from other industries has been key, it seems. Jonathan says: “If I go to a competitor and take their manager on, I’m just getting what they have… Everybody comes from different industries with slightly different skill sets.

“I think being able to bring those in and merge those has given us an advantage over others.”

Jonathan notes Alex’s most significant contributions have included greater use of technology and data analysis. The latter enables better decision-making, both say.

That approach of looking outside the industry is at odds with the traditional practice of handing a coach business down from generation to generation, Jonathan observes.

“Some of those businesses are fantastic, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the son or grandson of an original owner has the same impetus, energy, and expertise,” he says.

“I don’t always think they’re the best person to run the business just because they have the name. I think what we’ve managed to do is [think] about skill sets that we’re bringing in rather than a bloodline.”

Tourism: data and customer service

The impressive passenger waiting area tells you customer service is important to Roberts Travel when it comes to its tourism arm, which accounts for around 35% of the business.

“I think there’s a real market there that can be grown on, although hospitality, hotels, etc, are all facing challenges,” says Alex.

He adds that crucial to that growth is “changing the perception of what a coach holiday is from when I was a child. It’s evolved so much and is now really a luxury service.”

The word “data” keeps coming up in conversation with Alex, but it’s clear there is another asset of the business that is equally vital: “The data is really important to our business and that allows us to make decisions on what vehicles [we buy] and where we go,” says Alex.

“But if you can combine that with that experience you’re delivering to the customer, they don’t care about the data. They want that interaction. They want to feel part of something special and the goods we’re able to deliver. I think that’s what sets us apart.”

The tours brochure is always a mix of the old favourites that Roberts Travel knows will sell well and fresh, innovative offerings.

“We’ll follow the TV guide,” adds Jonathan, in reference to the trend of television and streaming locations becoming sought-after leisure destinations.

Marketing has also been a key focus for the business over the last few years, with Marketing Manager Sophie Urquhart noted for her part in boosting the website blog area.

Alex says Roberts Travel Club, which provides exclusive offers and priority booking for an annual fee, has also been a success.

Roberts Travel covers the spectrum of coaching

Every arm of the business, which also includes private hire, home-to-school work, rail replacement and the park-and-ride contract – which is now all-electric – plays its part in the success.

Alex says: “They are all cogs in what we do as a travel group and, without each of them, it wouldn’t be the success it is.”

School contract work remains a source of pride for the business, with 5,000 children a day being transported. However, the duo note that schools’ shrinking budgets for day trips are having an impact.

That has been offset to some degree by acquiring workplace contracts due to having two new Yutong battery-electric coaches.

Jonathan says: “You probably don’t get the price you ultimately want for the extra EV [cost], but you’re getting a better price, and you’ve created a market that you never had access to before.

“It tends to work year-round, too, so it has been a good opener for us over the last few years.”

Jonathan would like to see battery-electric as an option for home-to-school, too. “I would like to see subsidy put into an electric bus … that does 50km in the morning, 50km in the afternoon, so that we’re not sending out 25-year-old school buses.

“The image that children have of using a bus would be a lot better as they grew up.”

Despite concern in the industry generally

over rates for rail replacement work, Alex says: “We support rail replacement as and when we can. I think it’s still a crucial part of our industry and business.”

Although Roberts Travel has operated service buses in the past, it says the numbers don’t quite stack up at the moment, though nothing is ruled out.

Jonathan says: “Right now, service bus is not in the best of places. It was brilliant for many years. But coach is probably getting better rates in the last 18 months than it’s ever known.”

The consolidation trend

Both can see pluses and minuses in the current trend towards consolidation in the coach sector.

Jonathan believes there have been examples in the past where “good companies” have been bought up, but “they weren’t able to join the dots or make the efficiencies between them, and they often lost the owner or the manager that made the business what it was.”

Meanwhile, he is concerned about the prospect of private-equity firms making a quick profit over around five years without a long-term view on what happens to the business.

Alex highlights the risk of losing a family brand with a loyal clientele. However, he adds: “I think it’s probably an option for a family-run business which maybe does not have the right person to pass on to.”

He also recognises the value of combining assets for efficiency.

Roberts Travel aims for steady growth

The business that was born out of a passion for skiing is having to contend with a tricky slalom of sector challenges, but it has gathered considerable momentum on the slopes of the industry in recent years.

Further growth is on the cards, but the management stresses that needs to be steady to avoid a fall.

Jonathan says: “You’ve got to make sure that that growth goes through every part of the business… Your maintenance has to grow, admin has to grow, everything has to go at the same speed.”

Alex adds: “There’s a time to expand, there’s a time to stabilise. You can never stay the same; you’ve always got to adapt and change, otherwise you will go backwards.”