After 59 years in business in the North East, the owner of Escort Coaches has decided to retire and has placed the business up for sale. The company was established by Terry Wilson in 1967, but is now for sale through agents Parker Barras for £50,000.
The business was set up by Terry following a spell working as a joiner. “I bought a single second hand minibus and set up Escort Coaches,” he said, explaining that he built up the company with his wife, Susan, keeping an eye out for new opportunities. “In the mid 1970s, I was talking to an agent in the oil industry who told me about all the oil workers who were traveling up to Aberdeen. He said most of the North Sea oil industry was people from Teesside so we set up a service and it really took off. At one point we were buying a new coach almost every couple of months.
“In the late 1970s we started trips to Salou in Spain. By the mid ‘80s we had camp sites, apartments and static caravans out there. This was right at the start of the foreign holiday boom really and flying wasn’t as widespread back then.”
The company has also carried out school and private hire work.
The particulars listed by Parker Barras state: “The time has now come for the owner to retire hence the reason for sale, the sale includes the physical coach, phone number and introduction to all of the current owners [sic] contacts.
“A buyer would need to have their own coach license [sic]. The license [sic] is not transferable and needs to be held personally.
“The companies [sic] main source of work includes School Trips, Senior Citizens [sic] outings and train replacements. The owner will stay on for a small period to do a handover with a new buyer and introduce them to this work.
“There is huge scope to increase sales as there is no advertising currently done.
“Accounts are available upon request and a relevant NDA being signed. The business shows healthy profits and would be a fantastic opportunity for a [sic] individual or a company to purchase.”