Stagecoach order for Falkirk coach firm

Stagecoach runs numerous bus routes across the UK

Transport group Stagecoach has said it has ordered about 340 new buses and coaches worth £50m.

More than 200 of the vehicles will be from Falkirk-based coach maker Alexander Dennis.

They will go into operation on Stagecoach's provincial bus routes across the UK.

In June, the Perth-based Stagecoach reported a decline in pre-tax profits after what it described as a "difficult year".

The group made £161.3m in the 12 months to the end of April, down from £196.4m a year earlier.

But the Perth-based bus and rail operator said it was seeing signs of economic recovery in the UK and North America.

As well as a network of local bus routes, Stagecoach' s UK businesses includes Megabus and the South West Trains and East Midlands Trains rail franchises.