Prentice invests £400k in new coaches

FAMILY-OWNED transport operator Prentice is predicting a new golden age of coach travel in Scotland after investing heavily in top-of-the-range buses.

The East Lothian-based firm, launched 20 years ago by father-and-son team Don and Ross Prentice, said the £400,000 investment included a 51-seater executive coach and a new 33-seater due to arrive this autumn. The vehicle bodies were all supplied by Plaxton, the single remaining dedicated coach-builder in the UK and part of the Alexander Dennis group.

It comes as Prentice, which counts John Lewis and PricewaterhouseCoopers among long-standing clients, hails its 20th year of profitability this month.

Profits are said to have grown by an average of 18.5 per cent per year over the past decade. Meanwhile, the company’s fleet has grown from nine to 15.

Prentice said it had enjoyed consistent growth in spite of “huge challenges to the industry”, including soaring fuel costs, recession and extreme winter weather.

The 1940s and 50s are seen as the heyday of coach travel, although recent years have witnessed something of a revival, amid the trend to holiday at home as belts are tightened. Rising fuel costs have also forced many motorists out of their cars.

Ross Prentice said: “We have worked tirelessly to grow, with the fantastic support of dedicated drivers and the loyalty of clients in a competitive market.

“Green initiatives and further investment are just part of our plans for another successful 20 years. We’re looking forward to reviving the role of coach travel in 21st century Scotland.”

The green initiatives include using rainwater harvesting for cleaning, a tyre recycling scheme which reduces landfill and specialist recycling of all waste products.

Prentice, already providing coach services to Loretto, Mary Erskine and Stewart Melville schools, is also looking to grow its education transport business.