Go Ahead : News Across The Group March 2022

NEWS ACROSS

March 2022

THE GROUP

Take a look...

4 Christian on the road… again

7

Heading into new territory

10 Reaching milestones - the sky is the limit!

Dear all,

I write this just days after receiving some great news. The UK Department for Transport has awarded us a National Rail Contract to continue operating Govia Thameslink Railway for up to six more years.

GTR is the UK's biggest rail network, comprising Southern, Great Northern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services. Every year, passengers make 349 million journeys on this network - accounting for a fifth of all UK train travel. Securing a new contract is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our 7,500 colleagues on UK rail.

Go-Ahead is a bus and rail company through and through, and we're now in a strong position to grow, both at home and overseas. Over the weeks to come, I'll be outlining anew strategy, to be called "The Next Billion Journeys", which will detail how we intend to shape the group in the next few years.

As a sign of our ambition, we have bought a Swedish bus company, Flexbuss, a family-owned business which provides scheduled bus services, school transport and medical transport in southern Sweden. This takes us into a sixth country - welcome to the Go-Ahead family, Flexbuss!

Meanwhile, our German rail company has marked 100 days of running trains in Bavaria with more than 90% reliability. Back in Britain, the Oxford Bus Company looks set to play a key role in delivering a fleet of 159 electric buses locally, following positive news of grant funding from the UK Government. And Go-Ahead London has done well in the latest tender competitions, holding six routes and adding three new ones.

Support for the people of Ukraine

The Go-Ahead Group has pledged to match any donation made by an employee of a Go-Ahead transport company to the Disasters Emergency Committee on a pound-for-pound basis. We're taking this initiative to contribute to humanitarian efforts to support the Ukrainian people at a time of unprecedented hardship. Please donate so we can raise as much money as possible. Each operating company will be able to make their donation via their Just Giving pages.

Sadly, headlines across Europe over the last month have been dominated by appalling scenes of suffering from Ukraine - where the recent invasion has sparked the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War.

Given the sheer scale of the crisis, we have decided to match fund donations from colleagues anywhere in the group to the UK Disasters Emergency Committee, for use in helping refugees. So for every pound you donate via your operating company's JustGiving page, we will contribute a further pound. Please, if you can, contribute to this important cause.

Kind regards,

Christian Schreyer,Group Chief Executive

Women's Day

International

Celebrating women in transport

This year for International Women's Day (Tuesday 8th March) we showcased our inspiring female colleagues in a video, to help break the bias and to prove transport doesn't have to be a male dominated industry. Women from across Go-Ahead's companies business discuss why they love working in transport, and the exciting opportunities that are available to progress their own careers in bus and rail.

It's fantastic to see inspiring women in transport from different countries in a variety of roles - with a range from newcomers to the highly experienced.

Cathrine Elgin,

Managing Director of Go-Ahead Norway, said: "I was the first female managing director in the Go-Ahead Group. So there are no barriers. Just do what you want and if you're good at it, there's nothing holding you back".

Chermaine Russell, a driver with Go-Ahead London, said: "I have recently passed my passenger transport qualification. I know that whatever I do want to become, I can be it in Go-Ahead".

Clarisse Garcia,

Retail Manager spoke of her pride in working in the bus industry. She said:"I love customer facing roles, but also the interesting and challenging work I'm given. Women today have much better opportunity in establishing themselves within positions of authority in transport companies.

At Oxford Bus Company everybody has a chance to apply for all vacancies. So, if you have the right skill and the right attitude for the job you will be successful. The female population in the industry is growing and I'm so proud to be a part of it."

National Rail Contract awarded to Govia Thameslink Railway

Fantastic news for the Group

The Group is delighted to announce it has signed a National Rail Contract with the Government to continue operating Govia Thameslink Railway, the UK's largest rail franchise, for up to six years.

The new contract begins this month and will run until at least 1 April 2025, with the option to extend until 2028.

This is a major milestone for Go-Ahead - it secures the future of a large part of our company. It is a reflection of the dedication of the 7,400 colleagues at GTR who have worked so hard to make the network a success, and of the operational support provided to GTR by colleagues in departments across Go-Ahead.

Christian Shreyer said: "Along with our partner, Keolis, we have operated GTR since the franchise's creation in 2014. We've delivered more than 1,500 new railway carriages, completed over 1,000 station improvements, created industry leading smartcards and tools to make passenger journeys easier and we've achieved a steady improvement in passenger satisfaction. We should be proud of those achievements.

As an organisation, we can now move forward with renewed confidence. We are an ambitious company and we will be looking for opportunities not just to retain our existing bus and rail contracts but to expand our footprint and grow - in the UK and internationally. That includes expanding in UK rail if the Government's future Passenger Service Contracts prove attractive."

Christian on the road...

Meeting colleagues across the Group

Christian Schreyer has been on more visits over the past couple of months. In early March he visited

Go Ahead Ireland, Go East Anglia and Go North West. He met key people in the business and went behind the scenes to find out about our operations in the region.

Go Ahead Ireland - Group CEO Christian Schreyer in Ballymount, Dublin

Go-Ahead Ireland plan to expand later this year to add capacity for an additional 45 buses and install electric charging points for buses.

Go North West - Queen's Honours

Christian came to visit colleagues at

Go North West for the first time. The real highlight was him presenting the first 'Queens Honours' - their version of MBEs, OBEs and knighthoods.

The winners were all nominated by colleagues as people who embody the Queens Road 'Get up and Go' spirit.

4

again

Go East Anglia

Christian visited bus depots in Clacton and Dereham providing him with an overview of Go East Anglia's bus operating companies - Hedingham and Chambers and Konectbus.

March 2022

The Group welcomes the new Chief Financial Officer

The appointment of Sarah Mussenden

Go-Ahead is excited to welcome Sarah Mussenden as the new Group Chief Financial Officer. Sarah is currently the Interim Chief Financial Officer at Royal Mail UK and has extensive experience across multiple sectors. She will be joining the Group in May.

Sarah is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has extensive experience across multiple sectors, including her present role as Interim Chief Financial Officer at Royal Mail UK. Her previous roles include Chief Financial Officer at Centrica Consumer Services (British Gas), Barts and The London NHS Trust and Financial Director at British Airways. Sarah is a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit and Risk Committee at The Premier Miton Group plc.

Clare Hollingsworth, The Go-Ahead Group plc Chair, said:

"I am delighted to welcome Sarah to Go-Ahead. Her senior commercial business leadership experience, together with her strong financial accounting and audit background, will be particularly valuable as the Group will have completed its business review, led by Christian Schreyer, and moved to the next phase of the Group's development. She also has worked extensively in transport and regulated businesses, where the customer proposition and the environmental agenda are central to long term sustainable growth."

Sarah Mussenden added:

"I am so pleased to be joining the Board of Go-Ahead. Throughout my career I have worked for businesses that have important purposes and add real value to society. Go-Ahead very much fits this description.

It's been a challenging couple of years for the Group but the underlying business is robust and has strong long-term prospects. I look forward to working with Christian and the Board to enhance governance and financial control across the Group, whilst also driving to maximise its inherent value."