Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group, is an Australian

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

that operates transport services in Australia, United Kingdom and Singapore.

History

In 1989, the business was founded with the purchase of the

Kangaroo Island SeaLink Kangaroo Island SeaLink is a South Australian ferry company and tour operator owned by Kelsian Group, which has plied the crossing from mainland South Australia to Kangaroo Island since 1989. From 1989 to 1994, Kangaroo Island Sealink was owne ...

business. In 2004, it purchased Subritzky Ferries in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. This was sold in 2011.Prospectus
SeaLink Travel Group 2013 In 2011, the business of Captain Cook Cruises (including the previously taken over Matilda Cruises),

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) ( Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longe ...

Cruises and Sunferries

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...

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

Adelaide Central bus station Adelaide Central bus station is Adelaide's main terminus for long distance coach services. It is located on Franklin Street. History Terminal 1 of the Adelaide Central bus station was opened in September 1969 on the corner of Franklin and B ...

, operating the SkyLink

Adelaide Airport Adelaide Airport , also known as Adelaide International Airport, is the principal airport of Adelaide, South Australia and the fifth-busiest airport in Australia, servicing 8.5 million passengers in the financial year ending 30 June 201 ...

Shuttle Service and a coach operation. In September 2013, SeaLink commenced a ferry operation in

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

. In October 2013, SeaLink was floated on the

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

. 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 capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, *

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...

Ferries, *

Stradbroke Stradbroke ( ) is an English village in the Mid Suffolk district of the county of Suffolk. The ''Census'' of 2011 gave the parish a population of 1,408, with an estimate of 1,513 in 2018. Heritage The village was listed in the Domesday Book ...

Ferries operation in Brisbane. In February 2016, the

Captain Cook Cruises Western Australia Captain Cook Cruises is a cruise and ferry operator on the Swan River, Perth. History Captain Cook Cruises was founded in 1980 by Rottnest Island ferry operator Boat Torque Cruises. In July 1987 the business was sold to Tony Baker and John Go ...

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 32 vessels serving 21 wharves on the Brisbane River un ...

took over the operation of

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisdic ...

'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 RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator respon ...

announced that their respective

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

bus operations (including London United,

London Sovereign London Sovereign is a bus company in North London. It is a subsidiary of RATP Dev Transit London and operates buses under contract to Transport for London. Company history London Sovereign can trace its roots back to independent Borehamwood ...

and

Tower Transit A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

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

RATP Dev Transit London RATP Dev Transit London is a joint venture between RATP Dev and Kelsian Group in London. It owns the London bus companies of London Sovereign, London United and London Transit. It commenced on 11 December 2021. History In September 2021, RATP De ...

, 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 into Central London. It i ...

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 ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

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 ...

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey ...

-based LibertyBus and buses.gg operations, located on the islands of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and Guernsey respectively.

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