Buckland Rail – a new leading integrated rail services company – has been announced. It is made up of W.H. Davis, Davis Wagon Services and Yellow Rail, replacing W.H Davis (Holdings) Limited.
The new company will leverage the collective strengths of its subsidiaries by fostering closer collaboration to increase its capabilities and service offering to passenger and freight customers. It will build on the three rail businesses’ established relationships and highly complementary portfolios, particularly in the areas of freight wagon maintenance, bogie overhaul, and material supply services.
Buckland Rail will have an enhanced market position and be better able to embrace further organic growth and acquisition opportunities. The consolidated company forms a core part of the Buckland Group, an entrepreneurial family office which invests its own capital in private businesses for the long-term.
Paul Bragg, Managing Director of Buckland Group, said: “This strategic move demonstrates Buckland Group’s commitment to the rail sector enabling the integration of our individual company offerings to both our passenger and freight customers.
“Our investment in Buckland Rail enables a far more comprehensive solution to our customer needs, where we will continue to broaden our services offered.”
Buckland Rail will be led by new CEO Andy Kevins, who is succeeded as Managing Director of Yellow Rail by Paul Cunningham, who has joined the company from Wabtec. John Hall will continue as Managing Director of Davis Wagon Services and Andy Houghton will continue as Managing Director of W.H. Davis.
Andy Kevins, CEO of Buckland Rail, said: “This change is a logical step to ensure our customers continue to have the excellent services we provide as individual companies, whilst also being able to benefit from the closer integration and combined capabilities of the Group.”
This consolidation follows the acquisition by Buckland Group (formerly Porchester Equity Ltd) of Yellow Rail in June 2023, enabling access for the Group to the passenger sector, particularly with the rail-connected facility at Shirebrook, on the Robin Hood mainline, as well as the addition of engineering design services and wheel lathe systems and services.
Buckland Rail’s integrated market proposition includes:
- One simple interface combining the services of the three companies to suit the needs of customers across an extensive portfolio.
- Extensive coverage across the UK including 12 sites and a rail-connected facility at Shirebrook on the Robin Hood mainline, to be used as a multi-service delivery centre for both passenger and freight projects.
- A combination of fixed and remote service delivery capability, providing extensive adaptability for customers.
- An extended Group in-house turnkey capability for wagon and container services which includes engineering design, manufacture or re-purpose, bogie overhauls, material supply, re-engineering, re-manufacture, and logistics.
- An excellent bogie overhaul service, delivered as part of a wider scope of work, or as a separate service.
- A combined engineering capability that has considerable design engineering and operations experience in both passenger and freight activities.
- A combined freight maintenance footprint of over 2600 wagons, accounting for 20% of the UK market.
- A stronger supplier that can better counter the risk of downturns in individual areas and the numerous external suppliers face.