UK: Keolis Group CEO Patrick Jeantet, UK CEO Alistair Gordon and the Welsh Government’s Minister for International Relations Eluned Morgan officially opened the international transport group’s UK headquarters at Callaghan Square in Cardiff on February 21.
All UK headquarters functions are being transferred from London, with Gordon and Jones based in Cardiff as part of a 15-strong team of directors, managers and support staff.
‘Wales is a great place for our UK headquarters to be based, with its strong commitment to business, skills and quality of life set alongside the extensive ambitions of Transport for Wales and the wider transport and business community’, said Gordon. ‘Whilst we’ve had a presence in Wales for some time now, it’s fantastic to see our commitment to Wales cemented in the bricks and mortar of our new HQ.’
Keolis is owned 70% by French state railway SNCF and 30% by Canadian pension fund CDPQ. It employs more than 13 000 people in the UK, with its companies and joint ventures operating around a third of rail journeys and carrying more than half of the country’s tram passengers, generating revenue of more than £2·5bn in the last financial year.
Morgan said Keolis ‘has many of the credentials in companies we’re looking to attract to Wales, combining international expertise with an ambition to develop its presence and workforce here.’
