A GROWING coach operator has acquired another Hampshire transport firm.

Lucketts Group has North Hampshire-based Mortons Travel Limited this week, just four months months after adding Solent Coaches to its growing portfolio.

The move brings Lucketts’ total number of vehicles to around 175 and staff to around 300 and widens its reach in the north of the county and beyond into Berkshire.

As part of the acquisition all 60 staff of Mortons Travel will be retained by the company and managing director Tony Lawman said the plan is to grow the fellow family business.

“There were a lot of synergies between Lucketts and Mortons, not least the fact that it’s a family owned company with our same core values of safety, reliability, quality and attention to detail,” he said.

Mortons Travel will retain its name, coaches and extensive client portfolio. Should, however, it need to call on extra resources it now has the operational backing of Lucketts Group – which incorporates Lucketts Travel, Coliseum Coaches, Solent Coaches and Worthing Coaches.

The former shareholders of Mortons Travel, Adrian and Joanne Morton, say they wanted to pass the thriving company on to a fellow family business and now look forward to spending more time with their young children.

Mortons Travel is known for it its 100-seat high-capacity tri-axle double deckers.

Adrian Morton said: “Having grown the company over a period of 14 years it felt like the right time to pass the business on to someone who could develop it long into the future. Lucketts has an enviable reputation in the business and we felt our loyal customers and staff would be in safe hands.”

This week Lucketts subsidiary Coliseum took delivery of two new vehicles costing a total of £600,000.

The new Irizar i6 integral coaches are 13.2 metres long and feature plenty of leg room as well as seatback tables, a coffee machine, lockers and a toilet. They also have CCTV, which Coliseum demands as standard on all of its vehicles for customer peace of mind.

The coaches were funded by Santander Corporate Bank, which Coliseum and Lucketts has been working with closely on its growth plans. The group plans to invest £5.5m in its fleet during the course of 2018.