Lucketts Travel is a coach hire and excursion company with depots in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. It is a subsidiary of

Mobico Group Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express Coac ...

History

The company was founded in 1926 by Harry Luckett as a haulage and storage company and only bought its first coach in 1976. Harry's son David joined the company in 1963 and took over shortly after in 1966 when Harry died unexpectedly. The company’s haulage business continued to grow in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with Ready Mix Concrete and

Schweppes Schweppes ( , ) is a soft drink brand founded in the Republic of Geneva in 1783 by the German watchmaker and amateur scientist Johann Jacob Schweppe; it is now made, bottled, and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, de ...

major clients. In 1976 David purchased the company’s first coach, choosing to drive it himself. It proved a very enjoyable and successful venture and a second coach was soon purchased. By the mid-1980s the coach fleet had outnumbered the haulage fleet.

Growth and acquisitions

In 2005 the Worthing Coaches business was purchased followed in March 2006 by Flagship from

Eastbourne Buses Eastbourne Buses was a bus operator running within the Eastbourne, Borough of Eastbourne and into the surrounding area, including Pevensey, Hailsham, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells, Uckfield, and East Grinstead, with a fleet of around 50 ...

.Lucketts:a brief history
''

Coach & Bus Week ''Coach & Bus Week'' (CBW) is a weekly trade magazine based in Peterborough for the road passenger transport industry in the United Kingdom. The magazine is available by subscription, from main branches of WHSmith and from some independent newsa ...

'' issue 1082 10 April 2013 page 16 In January 2009 Lucketts Travel took over operation of

National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...

routes from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

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 ...

Victoria Coach Station Victoria Coach Station in the City of Westminster is the largest bus station, coach station in London, and a bus terminus, terminus for medium and long distance Coach transport in the United Kingdom, coach services in the United Kingdom. It is ...

(030),

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

(203) and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

(300) from Tellings-Golden Miller. In March 2012 Coliseum Coaches was purchased with 12 coaches. In March 2013, Lucketts commenced operating further National Express services;

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

(025) and Victoria Coach Station -

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

(A3). In December 2017, the Lucketts Group acquired fellow coach operator, Solent Coaches with 12 vehicles. In April 2018, North Hampshire firm, Mortons Travel was purchased with 35 vehicles.

National express takeover

In March 2020 the business was purchased by

. In January 2023, the coach excursion business of Lucketts Travel and six other National Express Transport Solutions companies were brought together under the 'Touromo' brand. The Lucketts name, as well as the names of the coach companies it has acquired, are to be retained for private hire services. In September 2024, Mortons Travel was sold off by the parent company to Rambler Group Holdings.

Fleet

As at April 2013, the fleet consisted of 103 vehicles. The breakdown was Lucketts (54 vehicles), Worthing (8), Coliseum (12) and National Express (29). In January 2013 a new common livery was introduced. A predominantly white base is offset with a swoop- brown/orange in the case of Lucketts, red/yellow for Worthing Coaches and grey/orange for Coliseum, which also carries a stylised depiction of the Coliseum in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

.Unified branding for Lucketts fleets
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 17 January 2013'' Coaches dedicated to National Express services are painted in the client's livery.

References

External links

Company website
{{NEXG Coach operators in England Mobico Group Transport in Hampshire Transport in West Sussex Transport companies established in 1926 1926 establishments in England