Pictured: David Reeves (D&G Coach & Bus) and Chris
Cope (Lombard)
Midlands Bus operator - D & G Coach & Bus have made a
large investment in the future of the company by adding two new 36
seater buses to its fleet. The DAF vehicles have been bought
through hire purchase agreements arranged by Lombard, the asset
finance provider.
The company was founded by owner David Reeves in 1998 together
with the late Gerald Henderson. It operates bus services for local
communities across Cheshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire
and in the West Midlands - where it operates under the name of
Midland. Their approach is to position themselves as the local
friendly bus company to the communities they serve.
The new 36 seater DAF buses will add to their extensive fleet
which also includes vehicles from Dennis, Mercedes, Optare and
Volvo. The new buses will operate on the company's 9 routes in the
West Midlands.
Lombard were introduced to the company by their bank manager at
NatWest, Steve Leach. They have put in place two new hire purchase
agreements for the new buses. This method of funding provides
benefit to the company by enabling immediate delivery of the new
buses together with ongoing maintenance agreements without eating
into company reserves to pay for them.
Commenting about the new buses, David Reeves said: "This is a
significant investment and move for the company. We have a number
of routes covering both rural and urban locations so it is
important that we have a fleet well equipped to meet this demand,
and also provide a comfortable ride for our customers. Our routes
remain popular and this is why we have taken the decision to add to
our fleet at this time. The financing through hire purchase has
proved flexible to our cash flows, meaning we could make the
purchases without affecting our company reserves."
Chris Cope, senior relationship manager at Lombard added: "The
new DAF buses are an important addition to the company's fleet and
should make the choice of public transport more attractive for
those people living on the company's routes."