Maker of ‘Boris Bus’ collapses into administration, with 1,200 jobs lost

Firm behind London’s New Routemaster buses has been grappling with lower demand for its vehicles

Boris Johnson at Wrightbus plant in Northern Ireland during his tenure as London mayor (PA)

Wrightbus, Northern Ireland’s maker of the ‘Boris Bus’, has fallen into administration, resulting in around 1,200 redundancies.

The firm built the New Routemaster buses, which appeared on London’s roads in 2012 in a flagship policy for then-mayor Boris Johnson. But further orders of the buses were cancelled in 2016 by Sadiq Khan who succeeded Mr Johnson as mayor.

Struggling Wrightbus, whose co-founder Sir William Wright is a prominent Brexit supporter, has been trying to attract a new owner or investment but failed.

Deloitte said on Wednesday they have been appointed as administrators. They added that at the time of appointment Wrightbus had around 1,250 employees and all but around 50 of them will be made redundant on Wednesday.

Michael Magnay, one of the two administrators, said: “This will be devastating news for those who worked there, their families and the town, which has already suffered from a number of manufacturing closures in recent years.”

Wrightbus was one of Northern Ireland’s largest employers and provided jobs to many more people through its supply chain.

The firm, also known for manufacturing zero-emission buses powered by hydrogen, was profitable in the past.

However, demand for its vehicles has fallen in recent years.

New bus and coach sales in the UK slid by over 29 per cent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Only 69 Wrightbus vehicles were sold, almost a fifth fewer than during the April-June period in 2018.

Owen Smith, an MP and former Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, said the advocates of Brexit must take “their share of the blame” for the failure of Wrightbus.

He added: “Brexit is hitting even world-leading manufacturers like Wrightbus hard. Brexit has created massive economic uncertainty in the UK and effectively closed off overseas markets. The reality is that Brexit offers nothing but bad news and economic decline to Northern Ireland.”

The Unite union called on Mr Johnson to nationalise Wrightbus to safeguard its workers’ jobs and skills and a future for the local area.

“Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made great play about how he stands strong for British industry. He must now intervene ... by nationalising this business – there’s no EU state aid rules that could prevent it,” said regional secretary Jackie Pollock.

The firm’s collapse comes only days after Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy, leaving 9,000 UK workers facing almost certain redundancy.