Doncaster-based Buckley Holidays is investing over £450,000 in two new coaches, the Doncaster Free Press reported.
The firm’s new vehicles cost £239,000 each and should be on the road on the third week of September.
Richard Buckley, who tops the family-owned company, said: “It is a significant investment, but it’s the right decision. They’re replacement machines, so we’re not expanding our fleet, but they are top-of-therange and will add a great deal of value to the customer experience.”
The new investment has been partially made possible by the firm’s experience during the recession, which it has ridden out without feeling undue effects.
“We’ve been pretty lucky,” Richard said. “We’ve not really felt the effects of the economic downturn.
“We did have a strategy – we cast our net out a little wider and looked for new opportunities. Because of that we carried on growing, despite the difficult economic times.
“I think being a family firm helped a lot too – everyone’s 100% committed to the cause, so whatever needs to be done gets dealt with.”
Buckley’s currently runs six coaches and employs 12 people, with Richard’s parents Steve and Jean still actively involved, albeit on a part-time basis. Richard’s brother-in-law works as one of the firm’s drivers.
This autumn sees the business undergoing a complete re-branding to give it a bright up-to-the-minute new look.
“We just want to freshen things up,” Richard said. “We’ll start with the new coaches and then do the other four. It’s just a matter of keeping things going forward and looking to the future.
“Our last re-brand was in 1997. The big coach companies like National Express and so on tend to re-brand every 10 years or so, and now, after 15, it just seems like the right time for us to do the same.”
