At 16 Geoff Cross had a different picture of what his career would look like than a typical teenager of his age.
While most of his peers were still at school, taking their first steps on the employment ladder, choosing universities, or even just learning to drive, Geoff had his sights set on fulfilling a long-held dream – to own his own bus company.
Fast forward to present day and still only 36, Geoff has experienced a transient rise since he first launched his first business in his teens, now finding himself at the helm of Centrad, one of the UK’s leading vehicle CCTV and telematics provider for fleet operators.
His journey started having been inspired by his late great grandfather, who worked as a bus conductor for over 30 years. Geoff developed an intense passion for buses in his early years which was further nurtured from working at a local bus company, initially just on Saturdays before joining them full time.
It served as an excellent learning curve and one which in Geoff’s words taught him ‘how not to run a business’.
So, at the age of just 17 Geoff founded Central Buses in September 2002. With only £20,000 to his name and not even old enough to secure credit lines or open a business bank account, it was an ambitious move. It was during this period that Geoff took it upon himself to study for his Transport Manager CPC which enabled him to apply for his own operator’s licence.
“It was tough”, said Geoff. I was working 70-80 hour weeks, but it was a true labour of love. I had always had a passion for buses and I was determined to continue to grow and build the business. Fortunately, my dad was able to help me out with personal guarantees, but the rest was down to me. “It was a strange time in some respects in the early days, as whilst my friends were all enjoying a stereotypical teenager social life, I spent my Friday and Saturday nights washing and cleaning our buses.”
Initially operating one hourly bus service in Birmingham, the company quickly expanded its operations to service further routes within the Midlands.
Geoff was committed to running a professional and reliable service that listened to the demands of bus-goers. It was through listening to their needs and providing concise communication that Geoff managed to build and attract a strong base of loyal and regular customers of varying age demographics – an ethos which has been a constant throughout his career.
He also strove to differentiate the business from the mainstream bus companies by ensuring to enhance its service offering through simple but effective measures. For instance establishing an ethos whereby the company was committed to regularly cleaning and sanitising its vehicles, and creating a positive relationship between driver and passenger –including giving passengers change, which mainstream bus operators didn’t offer instead demanding exact fares only.
Not only this, but he also understood that his business would be nothing without a solid staff base to underpin it. And from appointing his very first driver, whom he interviewed in one of his buses due to not having a permanent office space, he made sure that his staff were paid well above the norm for the benefit of retaining talent and nurturing loyalty.
Whilst the business was growing “conservatively”, Geoff’s desire to identify new gaps in the market still burned strongly. So much so that in 2006 Central Buses, in partnership with a supplier in the far east, developed and produced a prototype electronic LED Destination Display for its own fleet. From this concept – Centrad was born initially selling the displays to other UK bus and coach operators at half of the price of the alternative systems on the market at that time. Such was their success that they swiftly became one of the UK’s to three providers of LED Destination Displays in the UK.
With Central Buses remaining the core business at the time, the launch of Centrad opened up an array of new opportunities for Geoff, including the introduction of CCTV security on their entire fleet which laid the foundations for the company’s future operations in the years to come.
The trigger to diversify the business followed a growth in ‘cash for crash’ scams (still prevalent today) that had become a serious issue not only to the business itself, but to transport operators throughout the UK as whilst a driver may not have been at fault, they were still losing out on false claims due to the difficulty in proving their validity.
This led to Geoff to reassess and looking further into how such solicitous claims could be mitigated against to ensure his business, and the industry as a whole, were protected. Upon realising there was a significant need for such products within the industry, Geoff jumped on a plane to the Far East to negotiate prices on a four-camera digital CCTV system which swiftly became Centrad’s staple product.
What followed over the coming years was the launch of the company’s four, eight and 16 camera systems, all of which were extensively tested on the Central Buses fleet generating substantial savings for the company. Indeed, such was their impact that according to Geoff, the introduction of the camera systems literally changed the fortunes of the company.
Not only was the move into CCTV vehicle camera technology a strategic masterstroke for Centrad it placed Central Buses as somewhat of a trailblazer within the industry. An innovator in his own right, Geoff’s success had grown to such a level that he scooped Bus Operator of the Year at the Route One Awards two years running in 2015 and 2016.
During that same period, Central Buses had grown to become a near £3 million-a-year turnover business with a fleet of 25 buses that operated ten routes and a staff headcount of 40.
By 2018 the business had grown again increasing its fleet to 31 and headcount to 60 through the introduction of new services as well as winning local authority and private contracts.
Its success was such that it attracted the attention of Rotala PLC resulting in a £1.95m sale.
This allowed Geoff to focus on the growth of Centrad, which had quickly gained a number of high-profile brands including, Malcolm Logistics, British Airways and the Post Office, just to name a few, and further enabled him to invest significantly in propelling the company to new heights.
This included a £600,000 investment into freehold office space in Tamworth as well as investing in staff and stock in preparation for growth.
“With a mantra of being small enough to care and big enough to deliver”, Centrad’s goal has been to help fleet operators increase vehicle safety and to receive a significant ROI.
“As a former fleet operator myself, it was something I was all too familiar with and I quickly found that it was this experience and understanding of the industry which provided us with our USP.”
Indeed, it is a formula which has been at the foundation of Centrad’s success. Unique in what has become somewhat of a ‘cluttered’ marketplace, Centrad has continued to grow, notwithstanding the pandemic, with turnover increasing from £1,446,772 in 2019 to £2,417,495 in 2021.
However never one to stand still, Geoff was already setting his sights on taking Centrad to the next level and has set himself a goal of hitting a £5m turnover in the next three years – a target which he is confident of achieving.
One of the key lessons he had learned whilst running Central Buses for 15 years, was the importance of continuing to introduce a value-added offering. With this in mind Geoff is developing new technologies and introducing a range of new and exciting products such as AI camera systems which will revolutionise the market and ensure the future of vehicle and driver safety for fleet operators across the globe.
When asked about the business qualities which has led to his success Geoff said: “I have always had the ability to identify gaps in the market and a willingness to listen to my customers. It is this which has enabled me to tailor solutions to meet a demand. It was the hallmark of Central Business and now Centrad and one which I am confident will lead to even greater growth in the years ahead.”