A WELL-ESTABLISHED coach and bus business has announced the sale of its bus operation.

Johnsons Coach and Bus Travel, which is based in Henley in Arden, has sold its Excelbus part of the business to Rotala PLC’s subsidiary, Diamond Bus Limited.

This means existing Johnson bus services in Redditch and South Warwickshire such as the 64, 149 and 150 will now be operated by Rotala.

Most drivers and some operating staff will join Diamond Bus West Midlands operation, working from their depot in Redditch.

The deal includes 18 buses and other assets and is expected to be concluded on Sunday 29th May. 

Johnsons holidays, excursions and private hire operations are not part of the agreement.

Peter Johnson, operations director at Johnsons, said: “We have decided that we must now focus on building our coach business in terms of holidays, day trips, private coach hire and school services.”