The buyout is led by managing director Dominic Booth, who has decades of experience running public transport services in the UK. He expects the business to transfer by the end of the year, subject to approval by the Department for Transport, Transport for London and the Liverpool City Region as well as the Office of Rail and Road.
Nederlandse Spoorwegen has been active in the UK market since 2002 but now wants to focus on international railway services to and from, the Netherlands. The Abellio UK business employs more than 15,000 people. It operates four rail companies – East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail and West Midlands Trains – and has around 9% of the London bus market.