Highland Council To Acquire D&E Coaches Ltd To Help Reduce School Transport Costs

23rd January 2025

The Highland Council is pleased to announce, that following a period of negotiation and due diligence, it intends to acquire the entire shareholding of D&E Coaches Limited.

Provision of home to school transport is a high-cost statutory function of the Council which has caused significant budget pressures in recent years.

The acquisition of the company will enable the Council to accelerate provision of public transport services in the area, achieve operational cost efficiencies and reduce the risk of future contract cost increases.

Assuming the satisfactory completion of all due diligence, the Council expects the acquisition to complete in the near future. It is the Council's intention that the company will continue to be run on a business-as-usual basis. Further details will be announced at that point.

Vice Convenor of the Council and Chair of Economy & Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "I am delighted that negotiations have reached this stage, and as we approach completion, I would like to reassure customers, staff and suppliers that the transition in ownership will be handled as smoothly as possible. Discussions continue with the company management team, and I am genuinely excited for future public transport opportunities in the Highlands as a result of this expansion of our service."

Donald Mathieson, D&E Coaches Owner/Managing Director said: "D&E Coaches has been in business for almost three decades and we feel as a family firm that that we have taken the company as far as we can. Moving forward, we feel that the acquisition of D&E Coaches by The Highland Council is the best move for the company and everyone concerned, including our staff and customers. We are also pleased that the company will move into local authority/public ownership."

A very successful business D & E Coaches Ltd had a turnover of £6,552,818 with a profit of £986,080 in the year to 25 February 2024. The company employs over 70 staff and has modern fleet of coaches of different sizes. The company was founded by husband and wife team Donald and Elizabeth Mathieson 25 years ago.

Highland Council began running its own bus services in January 2025. They stepped in to provide a replacement bus service after Stagecoach announced they would no longer operate certain routes. This move allowed Highland Council to offer more reliable public transport options for local communities.

Investment has already been made in 18 buses, including 7 double-deckers, 6 single deckers, 4 minibuses & 1 coach to deliver passenger and school transport services at a lower cost than commercial contractors. The company headquarters are based in Inverness.