Rotala through its Diamond Bus subsidiary has reached agreement to purchase the bus business and certain specific assets – principally 18 vehicles – of Birmingham operator Claribel Coaches.
The deal is expected to be concluded on 24 April and will further bolster Rotala’s presence in the West Midlands. It will see all of Claribel’s bus operating staff and commercial and tendered work become part of the Diamond Bus West Midlands operation from Diamond’s existing depot footprint. Vehicles will be rebranded into the Diamond Bus scheme, Rotala Chief Executive Simon Dunn has confirmed.
Sale of the Claribel Coaches bus operations to Rotala leaves Claribel’s Directors free to focus their efforts on the commonly owned Birmingham International Coaches Business. “We are grateful for the opportunity that this decision has presented to us,” Rotala says in a statement.”
Rotala has long signalled its desire to grow, with a key part of that strategy being to “consolidate smaller businesses via bolt-on acquisitions in existing areas of operation.” It has previously purchased multiple operators in the West Midlands and elsewhere.
Writing in Rotala’s most recent annual report on 5 May 2021, Non-Executive Chairman John Gunn outlined a belief that the group “is very well placed to take advantage of the opportunities which are likely to occur for both organic growth and acquisitions” in coming years.
