FirstGroup has signed a financing deal worth £150m with a syndicate of three banks to support the purchase of electric bus bodies.

The deal follows a joint venture with Hitachi in November to buy up to 1,000 electric bus batteries.

The Scottish multinational transport group, which is headquartered in Aberdeen, said that the facility is available for drawdown over three years, on a competitive fixed margin plus basis.

FirstGroup also added that it has continued to “opportunistically purchase” its 2024 6.875% bonds, which has resulted in a reduction in future net interest cost. Purchases totalling £44m have been completed since the end of H1 2024 and currently, £128.1m of the 2024 bonds now remain outstanding.

Chief executive officer at FirstGroup, Graham Sutherland, said: "The innovative green hire purchase facility we have secured to support the purchase of electric buses represents another milestone for the group.

"We continue to work hard to secure and optimise available funding to deliver on our First Bus decarbonisation commitment, build out adjacent electrification opportunities and create sustainable value for all our stakeholders."

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