Arriva motors ahead in downturn
GIVEN the straitened times in which we live, it seems appropriate that a car manufacturer is replaced by a bus and train operator at the top of our prestigious list of the North East’s 250 biggest companies today.
However, as the demise of National Express East Coast has proved over recent weeks, the onset of a recession is no guarantee of success if you are in the business of running buses and trains.
There may yet be some tough times around the corner for Arriva as the CrossCountry franchise, which it took over in 2007 and which is partly behind the group’s rise up the table this year, has seen revenue stall in recent months. The company has banked on passenger numbers continuing to grow, in much the same way as National Express did, but it is not burdened by the same kind of punitive terms that have been the downfall of the East Coast line operator.
So today we toast the success of Arriva, a company that has come an awful long way from the second-hand motorcycle shop that was opened by the Cowie family in Sunderland back in 1938. It was only in 1980 that Arriva moved from motor retailing into public transport and the firm announced itself as a major player in the sector as recently as 1996 when it acquired British Bus Group.
Today’s acknowledgement that Arriva is now officially the biggest business in the North East is testament to the drive and ambition of those who have led Arriva over the years, and in particular its recent European strategy.
It’s also a feather in the cap for Sunderland, which maintains its status as home to the North East’s biggest firm for the second successive year.
As always, today’s listings provide a host of positive stories and it’s particularly heartening to see the range of businesses featured in the biggest climbers list - from engineering giants such as Darchem to Vertu - a motor dealer that’s truly defying the downturn in its sector.
Such are the reporting procedures of most firms, however, we won’t really see the impact of the recession on many businesses until next year’s listing. It promises to make interesting reading.
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