Henlys Group

Last updated

Henlys Group PLC (logo).png

Henlys Group PLC was a major London motor distributor and dealer founded in 1917 in London's Great Portland Street. In the 1980s it was taken over by a company associated with Michael Ashcroft, then some years later sold to Yorkshire bus manufacturer Plaxton.

Contents

Long-established Plaxton took the Henlys name in March 1992, sold the motor business in 1997 and with the freed capital became a major player in the bus and coach business in North America.

Henlys Group, previously known as Plaxton, found it was unable to service the debt taken on for its North American expansion, liquidated what it could and closed its business in 2004.

Henlys Limited

Frank Hough (1888-1935) —who also had his own motor business in Walsall which he had started in 1909— and Herbert Gerald Henly (1891-1973) began business in 1917 as car dealers at 89 Great Portland Street, London. When their private company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1928 they claimed to have one of the largest retail motor organisations in the country. It carried on business in London and Manchester dealing in "new and second hand cars of all descriptions". [1] [2] Showrooms and petrol stations gave the Henlys name to Henlys Corner, the junction of the North Circular Road, A1 and Finchley Road in Hampstead Garden Suburb and to Henlys Roundabout at the start of the A30 ( at the A4 ) at Hounslow West / Cranford. The business's scale may be gauged by the chairman's catalogue of their wartime activities given to shareholders in January 1946: assembly of 25,000 army vehicles of all types, repairs and maintenance of all types of service vehicles. In addition providing nearly 250,000 tank and aircraft assemblies and parts, repair or dismantling of 1,000 aircraft, handling over 80,000 tanks and packing more than a million spare parts. In 1946 Henlys distributed Armstrong Siddeley, Austin, Bentley, Jaguar, Riley, Rolls-Royce and Rover cars along with Studebaker vehicles for the whole of England and those of the Willys Overland Corporation including their famous Jeep. [3] When Herbert Henly died in 1973 a brief obituary in The Times reported the business he had helped found ran 110 petrol stations, works departments and showrooms throughout Britain. [4]

Henlys expanded by natural growth and by acquisition of major competitors. By 1981 car sales and profits were down. Aside from the British Leyland brands Henlys distributed Ford, Renault and Talbot. By 1984 takeover bids were in the air. [5] In August 1984 Michael Ashcroft's Midepsa subsidiary, Coleman Milne, reported it held 59.8 per cent of Henly's shares. [6]

Plaxton Group

Henlys was bought by the Lord Ashcroft backed Hawley Goodall, owners of Coleman Milne, the makers of funeral hearses. The bid was made via a Canadian-based company part-owned by David Wickins of British Car Auctions. On completion of the takeover, Hawley Goodall formed a Motoring Division comprising Henlys and Coleman Milne. In 1989, Hawley Goodall sold its Motoring Division consisting of Henlys and Coleman Milne to the Plaxton Group, the bus and coach manufacturer based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. In May 1992, the Plaxton Group PLC was renamed Henlys Group PLC. Coleman Milne was sold to a management buy-out in late 1992.

Henlys Group plc

Henlys pursued a strategy of diversification and expansion through the 1990s. The established Wigan bus bodybuilder Northern Counties was bought in 1995 for £10 million. The UK bus and coach manufacturing business, trading under the Plaxton brand, continued to produce a range of bus and coach bodywork. It also owned one of the largest UK coach dealers, Kirkby, and provided after-sales services to coach and bus operators.

North America

Henlys acquired a 49 percent share in Prévost, a leading North American manufacturer of coaches and bus shells in 1995. The other 51 percent of Prévost was owned by Volvo.

Car dealerships produced less than one fifth of Henlys' 1996 profits. The motor division, with 32 dealerships covering most major manufacturers, was sold in August 1997 to HMG, formed for the purpose by venture capitalist Legal and General Ventures. [7] The motor division merged with Hancock Motors of Sevenoaks but HMG Holdings entered administration in February 2001. [8] At that time HMG operated 38 sites represented 12 manufacturers and employed 1,800 to 2,000 people. [9]

Most of Henlys' substantial net cash surplus went to pay for Canada's Nova Bus Corporation. The Nova Bus deal was reported just before Christmas 1997. [10]

In February 1998, Prévost acquired Nova Bus, a city bus manufacturer for the Canadian and US market.

Dennis

In July 1998 Henlys made an agreed (with Dennis) bid of £190 million for bus and utility vehicle maker Dennis. A hostile bidding war ensued with engineering group Mayflower, owners of Scottish bus builder Walter Alexander. Volvo lent its support to the Henlys bid, which was raised to £247 million, but the Dennis board ultimately accepted Mayflower's £268.9 million offer.

The next year Henlys announced they were planning to spend up to £100 million on acquisitions, the money intended to be spent on the acquisition of Dennis, in order to expand its bus building activities in the US. After discussions with several companies, Henlys purchased Blue Bird, the US school bus manufacturer, for £267 million. This prompted speculation that Volvo might bid for Henlys. Henlys raised £111 million in a rights issue in order to fund the acquisition.

TransBus International

In August 2000, with continuing domestic sales difficulties, a joint venture was formed with Mayflower, now owners of the Dennis and Alexander brands. The joint venture, known as TransBus International, included only the United Kingdom bus manufacturing operations, including Plaxton and Northern Counties. Henlys held a 30 percent stake in the joint venture, which employed 3,300 employees at seven locations. The traditional brands of Alexander, Dennis and Plaxton were replaced by TransBus International.

TransBus International went into administration on 31 March 2004. [11] TransBus Plaxton (Henlys) was sold to its managers, Brian Davidson and Mike Keane with the support of a private equity group. [12] [note 1]

Henlys hoped to preserve their North American operations which had strong order books. However, servicing debt had placed too heavy a burden on those businesses. The North American operations were restructured, including closure of the Nova Bus factory in Roswell, New Mexico.

Liquidation

In May 2004 a new chairman, David James, was appointed to help rescue Henlys. In June 2004 it was announced that a restructuring of Henlys would leave the shares with little or no value, and that Henlys' problems were caused by paying too high a price for the Blue Bird business in 1999. Henlys' shares were delisted from the Stock Exchange. [13]

In October 2004 the Blue Bird operations were restructured with Volvo and creditor banks taking over the Henlys share. Volvo also took over the Prevost and Nova Bus operations.

Henlys Group Limited was wound down over the course of 2004 and early 2005.

Notes

  1. TransBus Dennis and TransBus Alexander were bought by a consortium which included —in a private capacity— Brian Souter and Ann Gloag, shareholders of Stagecoach Group.(Mayflower chiefs 'may be liable for pension hole'. The Times, Saturday, May 22, 2004; pg. 54; Issue 68082) The consortium named the combined business Alexander Dennis. Alexander Dennis rescued Plaxton in 2007.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coach (bus)</span> Bus used for longer-distance service

A coach is a type of bus built for longer-distance service, in contrast to transit buses that are typically used within a single metropolitan region. Often used for touring, intercity, and international bus service, coaches are also used for private charter for various purposes. Coaches are also related and fall under a specific category/type of RVs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Specialist Vehicles</span> Manufacturer

Dennis Specialist Vehicles was an English manufacturer of commercial vehicles based in Guildford, building buses, fire engines, lorries (trucks) and municipal vehicles such as dustcarts. All vehicles were made to order to the customer's requirements and more strongly built than mass production equivalents. For most of the 20th century the Dennis company was Guildford's main employer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Dennis</span> Bus manufacturer based in the United Kingdom

Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.

Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Eastfield, North Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer which then became NFI Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Bus</span> Canadian bus manufacturer

Nova Bus is a Canadian transit bus manufacturer headquartered in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. Nova is owned by the Volvo Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Dart</span> British rear-engined single-decker midibus

The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, in 1996 the low-floor second generation Dennis Dart SLF was launched. In 2001, production of the Dart SLF passed to TransBus International, during which time it was sold as the TransBus Dart SLF; Alexander Dennis took over production in 2004, renaming the product as the Alexander Dennis Dart SLF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volvo B7RLE</span> Low Entry, single deck bus chassis

The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volvo B7TL</span> Low-floor longitudinal double-decker bus chassis

The Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus chassis which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of the Volvo Olympian. It was built as the British bus operators seemed hesitant to purchase the B7L double decker with a long rear overhang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NFI Group</span> Manufacturer of transit buses and motorcoaches based in Winnipeg, Canada

NFI Group Inc. is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, based in Winnipeg, Canada. The company employs 8,000 people across 50 facilities in nine countries. NFI Group owns Alexander Dennis, ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, Motor Coach Industries, New Flyer, Plaxton, NFI Parts, and Carfair Composites. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI, and is a constituent of the S&P/TSX Composite Index.

Prevost, formally known as Prevost Car, is a Canadian manufacturer of touring coaches and bus shells for high-end motorhomes and specialty conversions. The company is a subsidiary of the Volvo Buses division of the Volvo Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander ALX400</span> 2-axle double decker bus body

The Alexander ALX400 was a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders. It was one of the ALX-series bodywork, all of which featured the same designs on the front and rear panels that were originally designed for the new generation of mainly low-floor bus chassis produced since the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton President</span> 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus body

The Plaxton President is a low floor double-decker bus body built by Plaxton at the former Northern Counties factory in Wigan, England. It was first unveiled in 1997 on the longitudinal Volvo B7L chassis and later built between 1999 and 2005 following a body redesign. When it became part of TransBus International, the body was sold under the TransBus name. The President was built on the Dennis/TransBus Trident, the DAF DB250 and the Volvo B7TL chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Counties (bus manufacturer)</span> Bus and coach bodywork company

The Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company was an English builder of bus and coach bodywork based in Wigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duple Metsec</span>

Duple Metsec was a bus bodywork builder based in West Midlands of England in the United Kingdom. It usually supplied body kits for bus assembly overseas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arriva Scotland West</span> British bus operating company

Arriva Scotland West was a bus company based in Inchinnan, near Paisley, Scotland. It was formed in 1997 as a rebranding of the former Clydeside 2000 company when purchased by Arriva. On 26 March 2012, the business was sold to McGill's Bus Services.

Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish builder of bus and coach bodywork based in Falkirk. The company was formed in 1947 to continue the coachbuilding activities of W. Alexander & Sons when their bus service operation was nationalised. After several mergers and changes of ownership it now forms part of Alexander Dennis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyland Tiger</span> Motor vehicle

The Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1981 and 1992. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1927 and 1968. It replaced the Leyland Leopard, which had been in production for over 20 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton Verde</span> Step-entrance single-deck bus body

The Plaxton Verde was a step-entrance full-size single-decker bus body built by Plaxton between 1991 and 1997. It was built on a rear-engined chassis, the most popular of which was the Dennis Lance which accounted for over half of the Verdes built. The rest were on Volvo B10B, DAF SB220 and Scania N113 chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton Pointer</span> Single-deck midibus body built on Dennis and Volvo chassis

The Plaxton Pointer is a single-deck midibus body that was manufactured between 1991 and 2007, predominantly on the Dennis Dart chassis, by Reeve Burgess, Plaxton and latterly Alexander Dennis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton Panther</span> Motor vehicle

The Plaxton Paragon and Plaxton Panther are closely related designs of coach bodywork built by Plaxton in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, since 1999, and still in production as of 2024.

References

  1. Pending Motor-car Issue. The Times, Tuesday, Oct 30, 1928; pg. 23; Issue 45037
  2. Henlys (1928), Limited. The Times, Tuesday, Nov 06, 1928; pg. 23; Issue 45043
  3. Henlys, Limited. The Times, Thursday, Jan 10, 1946; pg. 8; Issue 50346
  4. Mr Herbert Henly, The Times, Thursday, Jun 28, 1973; pg. 18; Issue 58820
  5. Share sale points to Henlys battle. The Times, Tuesday, Feb 21, 1984; pg. 16; Issue 61763
  6. Midepsa. The Times, Tuesday, Aug 07, 1984; pg. 13; Issue 61903
  7. Henlys sells motor division for £56m. The Times, Wednesday, August 06, 1997; pg. 24; Issue 65961
  8. Legal & Public Notices. The Times, Wednesday, March 07, 2001; pg. 37; Issue 67080
  9. HMG downfall. Motortrade.com, 12 March 2001, accessed 4 September 2018
  10. Henlys in £21m bus takeover. The Times, Wednesday, December 24, 1997; pg. 21; Issue 66081
  11. Legal Notices—TRANSBUS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED. The Times, Tuesday, April 06, 2004; pg. 32; Issue 68042
  12. Managers buy Plaxton. The Times, Monday, May 17, 2004; pg. [19]; Issue 68077
  13. "Parent of Bus-Maker Blue Bird Pulls Stock from London Exchange", Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, 17 June 2004, via HighBeam Research.

See also