L. F. Bowen coaches were established when Les Bowen, a haulier since 1928 needed more space and acquired the premises of W. Stilgoe in Saltley. Along with the new garage came the "Royal George Coaches" fleet and an operators licence to run excursions and tours. The out break of the war saw the coaches requisitioned by the Government for transportation of workers to the Austin factory.
With return of peace the haulage business continued and on identifying an emerging market in tourism Les Bowen began expanding his fleet and the name "Superior Coaches" was adopted In 1976 Les Bowen had grown his business to be the largest independent coach operator in the Birmingham area owning more than 70 coaches and 4 depots. Upon his retirement later that year the company was sold to Moseley Group (P.S.V.) plc of Loughborough. In 1977 the name "Bowens" was adopted and applied to all the vehicles in the fleet. The company continued to grow through the acquisition of smaller coach companies and with the purchase of Don Everall Travel they expanded their interests in to the travel agency business. In 1997 the Yorks Travel Group of Northampton came in to the fold adding a further 30 coaches and 15 more travel agencies. Additional expansion came with the purchase of the Applebys coach operation in Lincolnshire in 2000, and the Jeffs coaches operation based in Helmdon South Northamptonshire in 2005. The Bowen Travel Group currently comprises a fleet in excess of 130 vehicles and depots in Staffordshire, Northamptonshire, and Lincolnshire, with 39 travel agencies across the Midlands region. |
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Other Bowen Travel Group Websites |
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Applebys, Bowens, Jeffs, and Yorks Holidays, Travel & Group Travel are all trading names of Bowen Travel Ltd Registered in England No. 1383986 Registered Office Derby Road Loughborough Leicestershire LE11 5AH Applebys, Bowens, and Yorks Coaches and Days Out are all trading names of L.F. Bowen Ltd Registered in England No. 602305 Registered Office Derby Road Loughborough Leicestershire LE11 5AH Jeffs Coaches is a trading name of Jeffs Coaches Ltd Registered in England No. 3177970 Registered Office Derby Road Loughborough Leicestershire LE11 5AH |
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