Park's Motor Group
| Parks Motor Group | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Jonckheere bodied Volvo B9R | |
| Overview | |
| Owner | Privately owned |
| Locale |  Scotland |
| Transit type | Local and express bus service, Intercity bus service, Private hire |
| Chief executive | Douglas Park |
| Headquarters | Hamilton |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 1971 |
Park's Motor Group[1] is a coach operator and car dealer based in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Scotland. It is owned by Douglas Park who founded the business in 1971 as a bus and coach operation with three vehicles. They moved into the motor trade in 1977 with new and used car dealership in Hamilton selling Datsun cars.
Coach operations
Park's[2] are one of Scotland's largest coach operators with in excess of 420 coaches, which cater for both business and leisure travel throughout Britain and Europe. The company provides VIP coaches for most Central Scotland based Scottish Premier League football teams.
Park's operates express coach services under contract to National Express from London Victoria Coach Station to Plymouth, Newquay, Penzance, Manchester, Blackpool and Aberdeen. It also operates services on behalf of Megabus and Scottish Citylink.
The coach business was strengthened in 1996 with the acquisition of Trathens Travel Services,[3] an express coach operator running out of Plymouth and incorporating StarRiders (a well known sleeper bus operator). In late 2009, the Trathens branding was dropped completely in favour of the Park's branding.
In 2008 Park's purchased the Glasgow to Aberdeen and Edinburgh to Inverness services of Scottish Citylink.[4][5]
Car dealerships
The new and used car dealership side of the business has continued to expand and Park's now have 28 dealerships across central Scotland with franchises for a number of manufacturers ranging from Kia to BMW, including the Saab dealership in Ayr.[6]
In 2016 the group purchased Macrae and Dick, taking the total number of franchised outlets to 57 and giving the company showrooms in Inverness and Elgin for the first time, with this acquisition it meant Parks would work alongside Ford for the first time.
References
- ^ Companies House extract company no SC066568 Parks of Hamilton (Holdings) Limited
- ^ Companies House extract company no SC067046 Parks of Hamilton (Coach Hires) Limited
- ^ Companies House extract company no 1792858 Trathens Travel Services Limited
- ^ Citylink confirms partial divestment of intercity coach services Scottish Citylink 4 February 2008
- ^ Scottish Citylink Completes Sale of Services Competition Commission 5 February 2008
- ^ Press Release: Saab GB appoints new Ayrshire dealership