Norman Broadbent PLC, a leader in executive search, interim management and leadership consulting, is delighted to be partnering with The Coach Travel Group , one of the UK’s fastest-growing coach travel businesses, to appoint a Managing Director – London & South East .
The Coach Travel Group
Formed in 2024, The Coach Travel Group brings together a growing network of respected regional coach operators across the UK. Each business retains its local heritage and customer relationships while benefiting from the scale, shared standards and capabilities of the wider Group.
As the business continues to grow through acquisition, the focus is increasingly on creating a more integrated, commercially focused and scalable organisation, supported by stronger systems, consistent processes and more data-led decision-making.
Managing Director – London & South East
The Managing Director will take leadership of one of The Coach Travel Group’s most strategically important regions, with responsibility for bringing together commercial performance, operational delivery, people leadership and customer focus across a multi-site, asset-led business.
Working closely with the CEO and wider Group leadership team, this individual will strengthen the regional operating model, improve asset utilisation and commercial performance, and build a more consistent, accountable and scalable regional business.
Key responsibilities include:
- Take ownership of regional performance and P&L delivery
- Lead a multi-site business across operating locations, fleet and engineering capability
- Develop and deliver a clear regional sales and growth plan
- Improve revenue, margin, customer retention and account development
- Drive stronger fleet and driver utilisation, planning and resource allocation
- Create greater consistency across regional businesses, systems and ways of working
- Use data to identify opportunities for growth, efficiency and margin improvement
- Build stronger alignment between sales, operations and customer demand
- Lead, coach and develop the regional management team
- Establish clear accountability, decision-making and performance rhythms
- Build strong relationships with key customers and senior stakeholders
The successful candidate is:
- Commercially sharp with strong operational judgement
- A visible, practical and hands-on leader
- Comfortable bringing structure and pace to a changing business
- Able to balance customer service, utilisation, cost and profitability
- Confident challenging existing ways of working while bringing people with them
- Data-led and comfortable making pragmatic, timely decisions
- An effective people leader who creates accountability rather than unnecessary escalation
- Comfortable operating with and influencing CEO / Executive-level stakeholders
Essential experience:
- Proven leadership of a regional or multi-site business
- Meaningful P&L ownership and commercial responsibility
- Experience within an asset-led, operationally intensive environment
- Strong track record of improving business or regional performance
- Experience leading across both commercial and operational delivery
- Strong people leadership and change management capability
- Experience improving utilisation, cost control, margin and/or customer performance
- Ability to operate effectively within a growing and evolving organisation
- Based within approximately one hour of Newbury , with the flexibility to maintain a visible presence across the London & South East region
Direct coach or passenger transport experience is not essential . Relevant backgrounds could include passenger transport, logistics, fleet, vehicle rental, plant or equipment hire, waste, specialist vehicles or other multi-site, asset-led service businesses.
This is an exciting opportunity to take genuine ownership of a significant region, work closely with the senior leadership team and play an important role in shaping the next stage of The Coach Travel Group’s growth and development .
