08 Nov Lincolnshire coach company on track to treble holiday turnover
Some coverage of this story: Midlands Business News: bit.ly/WPD6fW Lincolnshire Echo http://bit.ly/T4Ptk0
AC Williams Coaches continues to grow following take-over earlier this year, investing in new coaches and recruiting new staff as it prepares to launch expanded holiday programme
A Lincolnshire coach company is on track to treble its holiday sales following a successful take-over earlier this year.
Under the management of new owner, businessman Glen Pratt, A C Williams Coaches is already reaping the benefits of major investment and increased staffing during the year, with the announcement of more than £100,000 worth of new schools contracts won over the summer. Together with earlier wins, that’s helped boost the total increase in contract work this year to over 35%.
Now, the Ancaster-based company is launching a hugely expanded 2013 holiday and excursions programme, which is designed to secure a bigger chunk of this valuable market, with the company planning to triple the holiday division turnover in the next 12 months.
The company committed £10,000 of investment in the maintenance workshop to ensure the fleet runs at peak potential earlier this year, and has now invested a further £60,000 in new vehicles to cope with the increased demand.
And staff numbers have increased from 25 at the time of take-over to more than 30, with recruitment now underway for another full time marketing position at the Ancaster headquarters.
Owner and executive chairman Glen Pratt, said: “We are exceeding targets across the board and now our sights are set on taking a much bigger share of the local market for UK and European holidays. We’re offering three times as many holiday trips as last year, with many new destinations and many more departure dates and pick-up points.”
He added: “Now we’re on an extremely strong financial footing, we’re attracting many contract customers as well as being able to offer additional benefits to our holiday and day trip customers. That includes a 100% commitment to the brochure price, as I’m personally guaranteeing there will be no fuel or currency surcharges and no credit card charges. It’s a tough time at the moment for everyone, and we want to show how much we value our customers.”
ENDS
www.acwcoaches.co.uk
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Editor’s note:
Born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, Glen Pratt is currently a Partner with a London-based fund management company, where he is a UK portfolio manager. He joined Fidelity, the world’s biggest investment house, direct from Nottingham University where he read economics, becoming one of their youngest ever fund managers at 25, and was managing a £2bn portfolio of client funds by his early 30s.
A C Williams was established in Ancaster in 1953, as a motor engineer and agricultural machinery repair business. Its first contract was transporting three children from a local farm to Ancaster Primary School. Now the company transports over 600 children every day. It also runs many leisure trips and holidays for local people, travelling throughout the UK and Europe, as well as providing transport for local football teams, service personnel and academic institutions. A fleet of 22 buses, coaches and minibuses range from a 75-seater Sykliner double decker executive coach to specially modified vehicles which offer tables or wheelchair access.