FirstGroup may be the stock market’s ultimate 2024 general election bet. It is the chosen operator for the rump of HS2, which the Labour Party seems happy to press on with if it wins power, and is the only big quoted company running both buses and trains. That puts it at the heart of the climate change movement, amid growing signs that higher costs are making younger motorists ditch cars.
A report last year commissioned by Stagecoach, FirstGroup’s privately owned competitor, found that 81 per cent of drivers had cut back on car journeys in favour of walking, cycling or taking the bus. Against that promising backdrop, FirstGroup said last week that it thought its adjusted operating profit for the year to next March would
