17 A satisfying journey of growth
Lucketts Travel Group is a home-grown Solent success story of a Fareham-based entrepreneurial family business. Although founded by Harry Luckett in 1926 as a haulage and storage business, today’s award- winning passenger travel company put down roots in 1976 when Harry’s son bought its first coach. Coffin Mew spoke to third-generation director Ian Luckett (pictured) and discovered that the company has enjoyed satisfying growth
Lucketts Travel Group has over 300 employees and operates a fleet of 110 passenger vehicles from bases in Fareham, Worthing and Southampton, providing journeys ranging from luxury European holidays to National Express routes to London or Gatwick, from private hire and day excursions to matchday travel for Portsmouth and Southampton FC fans.
For the past three reported years the company achieved a steady 15-20% turnover increase. Ian Luckett confirmed a similar performance during 2014 with turnover topping £20 million.
Impressive growth for an operation that simply transports people comfortably from A to B – not that Ian Luckett would agree with that view.
Firstly, service companies dealing directly with customers have to provide and sustain a high-standard service offering and top quality performance – even if it’s a regular school-run trip. Then there’s the HR and health and safety legislation, vehicle and traffic logistics, fuel costs, staffing ...
Secondly, Ian Luckett and his brother Steve (Luckett’s joint MDs) are not necessarily seeking huge turnover growth, but rather controlled growth underpinned by well-managed provision of customer-satisfaction.
While achieving creditable results, Ian Luckett states: “Our company is superb at adapting and surviving, but we need to become more planned and prepared.“
“I want us to always be in the driving seat controlling and commanding every situation,“ Luckett adds with an intentional pun.
That’s not an admission of any particular fault within this award-winning company, but an astute recognition of the need for operational change as a company grows in scale and corporate requirements. It’s also a typical entrepreneurial owner-manager viewpoint – constantly seeking business improvement.
It’s indicative that Luckett Travel Group appointed its first FD in October (Mike Allcock) along with a learning and development manager (Ruth Grossett).
Like many family-run businesses, Lucketts is evolving into a family-owned company with a more structured approach to its future.
It’s already had a very good past. THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – FEBRUARY 2015
Customer-focused Lucketts Travel Group was one of the first UK coach companies to achieve elite CoachMarque status from the Confederation of Passenger Transport. It won the RouteONE 2012 Large Coach Operator title and gained a 2013 Coach Tourism ’Green’ Award. It also represented the southern region for the ’Best Use of Technology to Improve Business Performance’ at the 2014 British Chambers of Commerce Awards national finals.
Lucketts has embraced technology, using route and driving tracking IT systems on its coaches to ensure customers get as comfortable and safe a service as possible.
The firm uses cloud technology to help employees communicate efficiently, access documents or book leave. The engineering department now digitally stores vehicle records and maintenance schedules.
Lucketts also has its own Driving Academy, begun six years ago to improve driver recruitment. “We tend to hire on attitude above skills nowadays, training up people inhouse within the Lucketts culture.“
Lucketts has loyal and long-serving staff – a common feature of family-run concerns – and prefers to buy rather than lease its vehicles.
This is the latest in a series of profiles and articles on entrepreneurship supported by Coffin Mew, lawyers to entrepreneurs. Coffin Mew is a leading South Coast firm providing legal services and advice to owner-managers and business founders across the region
www.businessmag.co.uk
Well-staffed vehicle maintenance and workshop teams ensure the upkeep of vehicles often costing six-figures each.
“There’s no other coach operator in the Solent area that does things the way we do, and we are held in great industry esteem for the innovations we have introduced,“ says Luckett proudly.
Steve and Ian Luckett joined the company from school in the 1980s. By the millennium they were influential in M&A growth. Worthing Coaches was purchased in 2005, Flagship from Eastbourne Buses in 2006.
Taking over National Express routes from Portsmouth to London Victoria, Heathrow Airport and Bristol in 2009, was a growth catalyst. (A bank loan helped fund the deal; interest rates reducing to 0.5% dealt a favourable hand.)
Coliseum Coaches of Southampton was purchased in 2012 and further National Express services serving Brighton and Gatwick Airport were gained in 2013.
Keen to keep the business up to date, Lucketts introduced a new look livery and refreshed its brand in 2012. Luckett says the company is aiming for £23m-plus turnover by 2016, but reveals no immediate plans for M&A growth.
Ian and Steve Luckett have come a long way since their Cams Hill schooldays, but this ’local boys make good’ story has still some way to run.
Details:
Lucketts Travel
www.lucketts.co.uk
Coffin Mew Amanda Brockwell, partner
amandabrockwell@coffinmew.co.uk www.coffinmew.co.uk
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