A TRANSPORT company has acquired a new firm with more than 370 employees and 241 vehicles in a strategic business move.

Maritime Group Limited, based at Marchwood, has taken over Aegeus Transport Limited for an undisclosed sum, meaning the combined business will operate a fleet of nearly 1,300 vehicles across the UK.

Aegeus Transport Limited is the holding company for Roadways Container Logistics Limited and Maritime says the move, completed on August 8, will make it an “unrivalled” transport and storage network.

John Williams, group managing director of Maritime, said: “We are very excited to acquire Aegeus and Roadways and this is a strategic move and a really excellent fit with Maritime.

“Altogether the combined business will provide much greater scale, scope and services for customers.

“As a committed market leader, I believe Maritime offers the best long-term future for the business and we look forward to working with Roadways’ customers, suppliers and employees.”

Roadways itself is the fourth-largest container transport company in the UK, and Maritime will take over sites at Nursling, Hainault in London, Felixstowe, Leeds, Manchester, and the Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal at Birch Coppice in Tamworth.

Maritime is the county’s largest privately-owned container transport operator and has diversified into other sectors including distribution and truck sales, while customers including blue-chip global carriers, freight management companies and cargo owners.

The company provides container transport, railport services, distribution, off-dock storage for loaded containers, container services, and warehousing.

It handles more than 10,000 transport moves a week and a national network of 16 depots in the UK including Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Peterborough, Reading and Tilbury.

Roadways Container Logistics runs its vehicles on ten per cent biodiesel, which it says underlines its commitment to a greener environment.