Kelsian Group Limited, formerly SeaLink Travel Group, is an Australian

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

that operates transport services in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

History

In 1989, the business was founded with the purchase of the Kangaroo Island SeaLink business. In 2004, it purchased Subritzky Ferries in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, before their sale in 2011.Prospectus
SeaLink Travel Group 2013 In 2011, the group purchased Captain Cook Cruises (including the previously taken over

Matilda Cruises Matilda Cruises operated commuter ferry and cruise services on Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of ...

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

Cruises and Sunferries

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

. The Townsville operation was rebranded as Sealink. SeaLink has also purchased specialist travel companies, managing the

Adelaide Central bus station Adelaide Central bus station is Adelaide's main bus station for Intercity bus service, intercity coach services. It is located on Franklin Street, Adelaide, Franklin Street. History Terminal 1 of the Adelaide Central bus station was opened in ...

, operating the SkyLink

Adelaide Airport Adelaide Airport, also known as Adelaide International Airport, is an International airport, international, Domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Located approximately 6 km ...

Shuttle Service and a coach operation. In September 2013, SeaLink began a ferry operation in Darwin. In October 2013, SeaLink was floated on the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary Exchange (organized market), securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or c ...

. In November 2015, SeaLink acquired

Transit Systems Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group. History ...

marine operations, which includes: * Bay Islands Transit ferry operation in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

Ferries * Stradbroke Ferries operation in Brisbane In February 2016, the Captain Cook Cruises Western Australia business was purchased. In October 2019, the company announced the acquisition of the remaining business of

for $635 million. As part of the transaction, Sealink's CEO, Jeff Ellison, stepped down, to be replaced by Transit Systems' CEO, Clint Feuerherdt, who took a 2.6% shareholding of the enlarged SeaLink. Transit System's co-founder and chairman Neil Smith joined the SeaLink Board of Directors as a non-executive director and also took up 15.3% shareholding of the company. The deal was completed in January 2020. On 4 November 2020,

RiverCity Ferries RiverCity Ferries is a public transport company which commenced operating ferry services in Brisbane on 4 November 2020. It is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group. RiverCity Ferries operates 36 vessels serving 22 wharves on the Brisbane River ...

took over the operation of

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population, BCC's jurisdiction includes 2 ...

's CityCat, CityHopper and Cross River Ferry networks from

Transdev Brisbane Ferries Transdev Brisbane Ferries, formerly Metrolink Queensland and TransdevTSL Brisbane Ferries, was the operator of the CityCat, CityHopper, and Cross River ferry networks on the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from November 2003 ...

. In September 2021, SeaLink Travel Group and the

RATP Group The RATP Group () is a French state-owned enterprise (Établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial, EPIC) that operates public transport systems primarily in Paris, France. Headquartered in Paris, it originally operated under th ...

announced that their respective

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

bus operations (including London United,

London Sovereign London Sovereign is a bus operator brand under London Sovereign Limited, trading as First Bus, which operates bus services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of First Bus London and operates bus services under contract to Transport for London ...

and

Tower Transit Tower Transit Operations Limited, which traded as Tower Transit, is a bus company who operated in East and West London. They are a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group and operated services under contract to Transport for London. Currently they op ...

's Westbourne Park garage) would merge into a new joint venture called

RATP Dev Transit London RATP Dev Transit London was a bus operator owned by RATP Dev in London, England. It owned London Sovereign, London United and London Transit. It commenced on 11 December 2021 as a joint venture between RATP Dev and Kelsian Group. In September 2 ...

, with RATP Dev holding 87.5% and Tower Transit holding 12.5%. The incorporation of the joint venture was finalised on 11 December 2021. Tower Transit's Lea Interchange garage, located in East London, was not part of the joint venture and remained unaffected until sold to

Stagecoach London Stagecoach London is a major bus operator in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and operates services under contract to Transport for London mostly in East and South East London, as well as some services running into Central Londo ...

in June 2022. In November 2021, SeaLink Travel Group was rebranded Kelsian Group. "Kelsian" is an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...

of "SeaLink". In September 2022, the Kelsian Group acquired the operations of the

HCT Group HCT Group was a social enterprise providing transport services and community services in several areas of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1982 as Hackney Community Transport in the London Borough of Hackney, to provide transport services f ...

-based

LibertyBus LibertyBus is a bus operator on the island of Jersey. It is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group. History In February 2012, the HCT Group was awarded a contract by the States of Jersey to operate the island's bus services from January 2013 for se ...

and buses.gg operations, located on the islands of

and

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

respectively. The contract to provide the bus network in Guernsey expired in March 2025 with

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

taking over services from April 2025. In January 2023,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

based Horizons West was purchased with 138 vehicles. In September 2023, Kelsian sold its shareholding in RATP Dev Transit London to RATP Dev.Annual report for year ended 31 December 2022 London Sovereign Limited Also in 2023, Kelsian acquired American company All Aboard America!

References

{{S&P/ASX 200 Bus companies of South Australia Companies based in Adelaide Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Ferry companies of Australia Kelsian Group Transport companies established in 1989 1989 establishments in Australia Travel and holiday companies of Australia