Mobico runs buses, coaches and trains in Spain, the UK, the US, Germany, North Africa and the Middle East. Its Spanish business, Alsa, keeps setting records, while UK coach, US contracts and German rail have cost it money and the shares have fallen from about 86p in January 2024 to about 24p. After selling its North American school bus arm and agreeing to sell UK Bus, it is a smaller group still working to cut debt.
A Spanish bus giant with a smaller supporting cast
Alsa is the engine. It runs regional, urban and long-haul bus services in Spain, plus operations abroad, and made £1.84bn of the group's £3.42bn adjusted revenue in the 15 months to March 2026. It also made more than all the group's operating profit: £249m, against a group total of £231m after losses elsewhere and central costs.
WeDriveU runs corporate and university shuttles and paratransit (door-to-door transport for people with disabilities) in the US. UK Coach sells long-distance coach travel in Britain. UK Bus runs about 1,400 buses with some 120 million journeys a year. German Rail operates regional train contracts for public transport authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia. 29 Jul 2026 26 Feb 2026 18 Aug 2026
Sales grew, profit did not
In October 2023 Mobico cut its 2023 profit guidance and suspended the dividend. Then German Rail forced a delay to the annual results. An accounting review raised the loss provision on its German train contracts, and the final increase was about £70m. The company blamed labour shortages, energy prices and inflation.
Revenue rose 12% in 2023, but adjusted operating profit fell 15% to £169m. The shares slid from 86p in January 2024 to 55p in April 2024. Management also put back its debt target: gearing of 1.5x to 2.0x was now expected in 2027. 12 Oct 2023 20 Feb 2024 25 Mar 2024 22 Apr 2024 21 Aug 2024
“Our 2023 results are below the expectations we set ourselves at the beginning of the year.” 22 Apr 2024
Selling the school buses to cut debt
The 2024 profit of £188m landed in the lower half of guidance. A £794m statutory loss followed, mostly non-cash, including a write-down of the North America School Bus business. In April 2025 Mobico agreed to sell it to I Squared Capital for up to $608m. The sale closed in July 2025 with $364m (£273m) net upfront.
The same week CEO Ignacio Garat left. Phil White, the new Chair, became Executive Chair. The shares fell from 58p in March 2025 to 31p in April. The company has not tied the fall to a single cause.
The new team launched the 'Simplify for Success' cost programme, with a £100m annual savings target. It also folded UK Coach into Alsa. By April 2025 the 2027 gearing target had become 'over time'. Gearing ended 2025 at 2.7x, against the roughly 2.5x forecast. 29 Apr 2025 25 Apr 2025 15 Jul 2025 9 Sep 2025 26 Feb 2026
Two bad contracts, one fixed
In the US, the WMATA paratransit contract went loss-making after volumes came in below the bid. The company sued the client, and a loss provision was booked. WMATA terminated the contract in May 2026, after the period ended.
In Germany, talks with the five transport authorities ended in an agreement in principle in January 2026. Contracts signed in June 2026 turned the RME contract into a gross contract from 1 January 2026, which removes revenue risk, and extended it to 2032. They also shortened the loss-making RRX contract from 2033 to 2030. 26 Feb 2026 29 Jan 2026 19 Jun 2026 22 May 2026 29 Jul 2026
Growth was never the problem; contracts and debt were
Revenue grew in every period covered here. Profit was lost on fixed-price contracts that cost more to run than planned: German rail, WMATA and, later, UK Coach in a more competitive market. Alsa's growth in Spain covered those losses.
Guidance has been met, but only just in some years. The 2024 profit landed in the lower half of its range, and 2025 guidance was held at the lower end until the result came in above. The 2027 gearing target slipped to 'over time'. Gearing stood at 2.9x in March 2026, up from 2.7x in December 2025. 22 Apr 2024 29 Apr 2025 26 Nov 2025 26 Feb 2026 29 Jul 2026
New faces at the top, after a rocky 2025
Garat left on 30 April 2025. Phil White chaired the group from 1 May 2025 and ran it as Executive Chair. Francisco 'Paco' Iglesias, previously Alsa CEO and group COO, became Group CEO on 1 April 2026. White returns to Non-Executive Chair on 1 October 2026. Brian Egan became permanent CFO in June 2025 after an interim spell.
Deloitte resigned as auditor in September 2025 and KPMG replaced it. The year-end moved to 31 March, which produced the 15-month accounts. Karen Geary left as Senior Independent Director and Ana de Pro Gonzalo took over. 29 Apr 2025 25 Mar 2026 24 Jun 2025 25 Sep 2025 26 Nov 2025 8 Sep 2026
Profit up, but old liabilities still drain cash
For the 15 months to March 2026, adjusted operating profit was £231m, but statutory operating profit was only £12m. Adjusting items of £219m included £46m for insurance claims kept from the school bus sale and a £41m write-down on the RME German contract. The group has £0.8bn of liquidity, including £242m of net cash and an undrawn £600m credit line.
UK Coach lost £23m as competition cut passengers and fares. In September 2026 Mobico said it would sell UK Bus to the West Midlands Combined Authority for about £24m upfront, with closing expected around November 2026. Alsa revenue grew 8% in the latest trading update, and German Rail grew 19%. WeDriveU fell 12%. 29 Jul 2026 18 Aug 2026 8 Sep 2026
“Debt reduction remains the Board's key priority; however, cash outflows associated with legacy liabilities continue to constrain our capacity to reduce net debt.” 29 Jul 2026
Higher guidance, more asset sales possible
Guidance for calendar 2026 adjusted operating profit rose to £215m to £230m in July 2026, from £195m to £210m given in February. The group targets £100m of annualised cost savings and capex below £120m in 2027. It expects only a small fall in covenant gearing by 31 December 2026.
Management says it is working with advisers on 'strategic and financial options' to cut debt faster, and expects to update in the second half of 2026. Tenders for Alsa's long-haul concession renewals start in coming months and run to 2029. The latest close was 23.8p on 9 October 2026. 29 Jul 2026 8 Sep 2026 18 Aug 2026
Written by AI from Mobico Group's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources