FirstGroup aligns funding for electric bus production

FirstGroup, the company behind public transport operator First Bus, has signed a new £150m financing agreement with a syndicate of three banks to fund the purchase of electric bus bodies. This follows a deal for bus batteries with Hitachi.

FirstGroup has signed a new £150m Green Hire Purchase Financing Facility with a syndicate of three banks to support the purchase of electric bus bodies. The initiative will acquire the chassis and drivetrain, excluding the battery. This follows the strategic joint venture with Hitachi to purchase up to 1,000 electric bus batteries announced by the Group in November 2023.

The Facility will provide the funding “in tenors of either seven or ten years depending on the specific requirement at the time for each batch of vehicle bodies to be financed.”

“The innovative Green Hire Purchase Facility we have secured to support the purchase of electric buses represents another milestone for the Group. We continue to work hard to secure and optimise available funding to deliver on our First Bus decarbonisation commitment, build out adjacent electrification opportunities and create sustainable value for all our stakeholders,” explained Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer.

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