Firstgroup's Greyhound subsidiary awarded funding grant from Treasury Department

School buses operator Firstgroup said on Thursday that its Greyhound subsidiary had been awarded an initial funding grant of $84.6m from the US Department of the Treasury.

Firstgroup stated that Greyhound received the funding as part of the Treasury Department's coronavirus economic relief for transportation services scheme (CERTS).

The FTSE 250-listed firm said the funds must be used in the next twelve months and can only be utilised in its US Greyhound business, with 60% of the grant required to be spent on ongoing qualifying payroll costs, while the balance may be used for operating, maintenance and other expenses.

Firstgroup advised that Greyhound would be eligible for a further award under the second tranche of CERTS funding, expected to be approximately one-fifth of the size of the first, and added that the business was also eligible to receive additional funding from other US federal schemes, such as the CARES act and the American Rescue Plan.

It also added that Greyhound remained non-core to the group as a whole and that the board was continuing to pursue "all exit options" for the business, with sale discussions ongoing.

As of 0815 BST, Firstgroup shares were up 0.34% at 87.80p.