North America is main growth area for First says retiring chief Lockhead

TRANSPORT giant FirstGroup will focus its growth on the North American market, according to its retiring chief executive Sir Moir Lockhead.

Speaking at his last press conference before he is replaced by Tim O'Toole, the former managing director of London Underground, Lockhead indicated that the company would focus on the transatlantic markets in the US and Canada rather than Europe. "There will be further expansion in North America because it is such a massive market. So more of the same there," he said.

"Europe, so far, holds nothing for us. We have got a small company in Germany. But who knows? If the European markets do truly open there might be opportunities there.

"Then there is Asia. There are countries there that require good public transport and with massive population densities which is just what we want. High volume mass transit is what we do best. But those are new markets which would need more work."

Speaking of his decision to retire, he said: "Of course I will miss the company - I wouldn't dream of saying anything else. I will miss the people and I will miss the excitement but it's time for change and it's time for me to change. And it is time because we have the right person for the company to be under new leadership. I think he (O'Toole] has a great team to lead and he is a good leader.

"It has been fantastic experience. It has proven that if you can get a good group people together who are like-minded and focused on delivering both growth and service quality then you can make a difference. We were able to take the opportunities that the rollercoaster of privatisation offered. But it just needed a lot of hard work, courage and a wee bit of luck."

Lockhead, 65, who started his career in the industry when he left school at 15 to become an apprentice mechanic, said the biggest step forward the company had taken was in its decision to enter the American market.

In 2003, FirstGroup bought Coach USA's transit division, the operator of buses in California, Florida and New York. Four years later, the group became the largest operator of yellow school buses in North America with the acquisition of Laidlaw International in a deal which also saw the firm take over the iconic Greyhound bus company. Today, more than half the company's revenues come from North America. But Lockhead stressed that, despite the rapid expansion across the Atlantic, FirstGroup remained committed to continuing to base its operations in Aberdeen where the company has invested 17 million in its new global headquarters in King Street.

He said: "I genuinely believe that this is where we will stay. There is no reason to move. We have run this business for all these years from here and it has done well. Aberdeen has been a good base for us and will continue to be so."