company traded as lse stob industry infrastructure and support services founded 2007 headquarters carlisle cumbria england area served ireland united kingdom key people iain ferguson chairman andrew tinkler ceo divisions stobart energy stobart aviation stobart rail stobart infrastructure stobart investments subsidiaries stobart holdings ltd stobart biomass products ltd stobart rail ltd stobart airports ltd stobart air ltd london southend airport company ltd aer arann uk ltd stobart estates holdings ltd stobart properties ltd wadi properties ltd westbury properties ltd moneypenny ltd stobart group brands llp eddie stobart promotions ltd stobart barristers ltd stobart biomass transport ltd website www.stobartgroup.co.uk stobart group ltd lse stob trading as stobart group is a british infrastructure and support services company with interests in energy aviation and rail through operations in the united kingdom and ireland . the company is registered in guernsey but has its operational head office in carlisle cumbria . the group had its origins in the transport and logistics business run by edward stobart from 1976 to 2004 . trading as eddie stobart edward had inherited and expanded it from the agricultural business founded by his father steady eddie stobart in the 1940s . it eventually grew to become one of the uk s most recognised brands . following corporate restructurings in 2004 and 2007 the group became a public company and diversified into various other sectors while retaining stobart family members william stobart edward s brother and his brother in law andrew tinkler in the management roles of coo and ceo respectively . after boardroom changes in 2013 in 2014 a 51 % stake in its original transport business was sold becoming eddie stobart logistics with william stobart as its ceo the group retaining the rights to the brand eddie stobart licensing it out to the new company . with tinkler remaining at stobart group it re positioned itself around its remaining interests as a services company . the company is listed on the london stock exchange and is a former constituent of the ftse 250 index . however unlike most uk public companies stobart group retains its ltd status as it is incorporated in guernsey and not england & wales or scotland which would require it to change its suffix to plc status . contents 1 early history 2 corporate history 2.1 public listing and further restructuring 2.2 boardroom coup and counter coup 2.3 partial realisation of transport and distribution division 3 headquarters 4 financial performance 5 current stobart group operations 5.1 biomass road haulage 5.2 railway infrastructure 5.3 railway engineering 5.4 stobart infrastructure 5.5 carlisle lake district airport 5.6 london southend airport 5.7 air passenger services 5.8 stobart investments 5.8.1 stobart properties 5.8.2 westbury properties 5.9 brand promotion 5.9.1 stobart members club 5.9.2 stobart fest 5.9.3 sponsorship 6 former stobart group operations 6.1 rail tours 7 current eddie stobart logistics operations 7.1 general road haulage 7.2 temperature controlled distribution 7.3 specialist road haulage 7.4 rail freight services 7.5 widnes inland port and industrial park 7.6 stobart park 8 in popular culture 9 vehicle naming 10 see also 11 references 12 external links early history edit a subaru impreza with stobart advertising the business was started by eddie stobart in the late 1940s as an agricultural business in cumbria . his son edward stobart junior was born in cumberland in england on 21 november 1954 at his parents house just outside hesket newmarket near carlisle . he was one of four children with an elder sister anne an elder brother john and a younger brother william . he was always called edward to avoid confusion with his father eddie . he was very interested in lorries and when he left school he started working for his father s contracting business delivering agricultural material in the region . the first truck bought by eddie stobart in 1960 was painted post office red and brunswick green with yellow lettering . these colours were used for subsequent vehicles up to 1969 . by 1970 the company consisted of three main parts fertilizer haulage and a farm shop in wigton . eddie stobart controlled the organisation fully until 1973 when at the age of 19 edward stobart took the place of ceo . in 1976 eddie retired and edward took full control of the road haulage business and the name eddie stobart ltd in 1976 becoming chairman . the other parts of the business went to other family members . that same year edward stobart and the fleet of eight lorries moved to carlisle to be closer to the m6 motorway . by 1985 edward stobart owned 26 vehicles but he would still personally wash the trucks . 1 a lot of hard work never declining an order and a virtual paranoia about keeping his lorries characterised by their tautliner bodies immaculately clean eventually paid off and edward started to get orders from larger businesses . one of the key success factors for the company was its specific emphasis on building a strong reputation and corporate image . for example in the 1980s and 1990s if any driver was caught not wearing a tie while on duty he or she could face disciplinary action . similarly the company had a policy that all drivers must wave back and honk their horn in the traditional truck driver fashion when signalled by a passer by or eddie spotter to do so . in 1987 edward stobart s brother william took the place of ceo . however in 1992 william also resigned and so alan martin took the place of ceo . however martin was fired in 1997 after leading a court case against stobart in order to receive more payments . as well as a new management team in 1986 another key element in its growth at this time was the opening on 1 april 1987 of its first depot in the english midlands at burnaston . 2 under edward s management the fleet quickly grew from 26 lorries in 1985 to 300 in 1990 . this rapid expansion gained the company the honour of haulier of the year in 1990 . corporate history edit by 2000 the enlarged eddie stobart group ltd. consisted of three divisions eddie stobart ltd. eddie stobart international and eddie stobart promotions . by 2002 the company was experiencing financial difficulties caused by the fuel crisis . in 2001 the haulage business had posted its first loss 3 with the fan club making more money than the haulage business . 3 on 15 october 2003 it was announced that eddie stobart was to be sold to wa developments a civil engineering company that specialised in railway maintenance based in appleby in westmorland cumbria . at the time eddie stobart was 55 % owned by edward stobart and 45 % owned by his brother william . wa developments was 27 % owned by william and 73 % owned by william s school friend brother in law and business partner andrew tinkler . in effect therefore william stobart s stake in eddie stobart reduced from 45 % to 27 % . eddie stobart group ltd. became a subsidiary of w.a. developments international ltd a parent company of wa developments . upon completion on 4 february 2004 andrew tinkler became chairman and william stobart became managing director of eddie stobart . public listing and further restructuring edit the stobart group was created on 15 august 2007 when the eddie stobart logistics business gained a stock market listing through the reverse acquisition of the westbury property fund ltd a commercial property and ports company . 4 5 westbury acquired the ultimate eddie stobart ltd. holding company stobart holdings ltd. from w.a. developments international ltd. for 137.7 million 62 million in cash and 76 million in new westbury property fund shares . the renamed westbury group then became the london stock exchange listed stobart group ltd. with andrew tinkler and william stobart becoming substantial shareholders holding 20 % and 8.5 % respectively of the stobart group and becoming chief executive officer and chief operating officer of the stobart group respectively . the company was split into three divisions eddie stobart stobart rail and stobart ports with the opportunity of adding a fourth division stobart air in the future . on 10 march 2008 the stobart group acquired w. a. developments ltd. from w. a. developments international ltd. for 15 million 2.5 million in cash and 12.5 million in new stobart group shares . 6 on 21 april 2011 the stobart group announced a placing and open offer similar to a rights issue of 77 339 766 new ordinary shares in the stobart group at 155p each to raise net proceeds of 114.9 million to achieve its growth plans . 7 the company was to be split into five new divisions stobart transport and distribution stobart estates stobart infrastructure and civils stobart air and stobart biomass . boardroom coup and counter coup edit in january 2013 following an under performing share price stobart group s largest shareholder invesco initiated a number of boardroom changes . the non executive chairman rodney baker bates was demoted to become a non executive director whilst avril palmer baunack the former chief executive of autologic and now deputy chief executive of stobart group was promoted to become executive chairman . her remit was to sell off under performing parts of the business . however disagreements started with andrew tinkler and william stobart who held 12.6 % of the stobart group at the time over what could be classified as an under performing asset . their view was that there were no under performing assets in the stobart group whatsoever . in april 2013 stobart group announced that avril palmer baunack would be leaving the group in the next month . in october 2013 stobart group appointed iain ferguson cbe as its new independent non executive chairman . partial realisation of transport and distribution division edit in march 2014 stobart group announced its intention to re position itself as an infrastructure and support services business with the announcement of the sale of its original transport and distribution business to douglas bay capital for 280.8 million 195.6 million in cash and 44.1 million in shares and therefore a 49 % stake of the new eddie stobart logistics business . the deal enabled stobart group to pay back almost all of its debt conduct a 35 million share buy back and invest 55 million into its new division stobart green energy . william stobart left his position as chief operating officer of the stobart group to become executive chairman of eddie stobart logistics . there are now four main operating divisions within the company stobart energy stobart aviation stobart rail and stobart infrastructure . headquarters edit following growth the company had previously been looking to move from its long standing carlisle base and was considering a relocation further down the m6 motorway to warrington . these plans were rejected in 2006 due to potential job losses in carlisle . 3 financial performance edit stobart group is listed on the london stock exchange under the symbol stob . figures below show the recent results for the group ; their financial year now runs to the last day of february each year period ended turnover m profit before tax m dividend per share p adjusted earnings per share diluted p 28 february 2013 572.4 36.0 6.0 8.98 29 february 2012 551.92 30.55 6.0 8.97 28 february 2011 500.39 29.47 6.0 9.02 28 february 2010 447.66 33.29 12.0 11.58 28 february 2009 431.06 29.72 6.0 4.07 29 february 2008 14 months 108.84 3.52 8.3 22.92 31 december 2006 0.42 1.12 6.0 58.29 31 december 2005 7.59 13.70 6.0 26.48 31 december 2004 5.43 7.56 8.0 54.04 source current stobart group operations edit biomass road haulage edit on 24 march 2010 the stobart group announced the purchase of 50 % of a. w. jenkinson biomass ltd from a. w. jenkinson forest products for 30 million as an equal mix