Badgerline
1986 Badgerline was the second company sold by National Bus Co; it was sold to its management. Badgerline mainly consisted of the bus service activities of the National Bus Company in the Bath, Bristol and Weston-super-Mare region.
Soon after this, Badgerline purchased Roman City which had just appointed a receiver; this was the first case of a major operator being acquired by an independent former NBC company[1]
1988 Badgerline Holdings acquired Midland Red West Holdings
1989 Acquired Bristol Omnibus Co Ltd
1993 Floated on the London Stock Exchange
1995 Badgerline was one of 7 companies that accounted for approximately 60 per cent of the UK bus travel market. Four of them, including Badgerline, had Stock Market listings.[2]
1995 Badgerline Group plc and GRT Bus Group plc merged under FirstBus plc, the ultimate holding company of Badgerline Buses[3]. Badgerline Group plc also owned 24.5% of Great Western Holdings Ltd, which at the time of the merger was bidding to win one of the first round of rail franchises to be offered to private companies following the Railways Act.
1997 Badgerline Group plc changed its name to FirstBus Group plc[4]