National Express Group
Q3 profits up 15% Cashflow £150m
Back in the day, Dean Finch was the most feared franchise bidder in the rail industry. His ability to farm contracts from the Department for Transport made him at least the co-architect of FirstGroup, his employer at the time, becoming the biggest operator in the country.
Irrespective of what has happened to FirstGroup since (don’t look if you are of a nervous disposition), one wonders whether Mr Finch has lost his touch. Now the chief executive of National Express, he is charged with repairing the company’s reputation after the ignominious reversals of losing the East Coast Main Line and East Anglia contracts.
His record thus far: retention of the boutique Essex commuter line C2C; not picked