However, it was unsuccessful and the franchise was awarded to National Express from April 2004, including the services operated by First Great Eastern. Having not been shortlisted for the Greater Anglia franchise, this gave FirstGroup another chance to bid. In August 2003, FirstGroup purchased GB Railways which owned Anglia Railways and GB Railfreight and held 80% of the shares in Hull Trains. ДЇirst Great Eastern Class 312 at Kirby Cross in March 2004 In May 2000, FirstGroup began operating the London Tramlink concession under contract to Transport for London. In September 1999, FirstGroup purchased Ryder Public Transport Services, a provider of school bus and contracted public bus transportation in the United States. In May 2000 FirstGroup sold its shares to joint venture partner New World Development. FirstGroup had a 26% shareholding in the joint venture. In September 1998, FirstGroup made its first overseas foray when New World First Bus commenced operating bus services in Hong Kong formerly operated by China Motor Bus.

In March 1998, FirstGroup purchased the 75.5% shares in Great Western Holdings it did not already own and rebranded the franchises First Great Western and First North Western. The company was renamed FirstGroup in December 1997 after the company moved into railways in February 1996 with the privatisation of British Rail, through a 24.5% shareholding in Great Western Holdings that won the Great Western and North Western franchises, and a 100% shareholding in First Great Eastern that ran the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997. ДЇirst Great Western High Speed Train at Penzance in October 2009 FirstBus acquired GM Buses North in Manchester and Strathclyde Buses in Glasgow in 1996, Mainline in South Yorkshire and CentreWest in London in 1997, and Capital Citybus in London in 1998. FirstBus went on to acquire larger urban metropolitan operators by taking advantage of the privatisation of the PTE bus operations and the privatisation of London bus services. Expansion ДЇirstBus continued the policy of growth by acquisition acquiring former council owned operations and companies formerly owned by English, Welsh and Scottish nationalized operators. Badgerline's Trevor Smallwood became chairman of FirstBus, while GRT head Moir Lockhead became deputy chairman and chief executive. At the time of the merger, FirstBus had 5,600 buses, 4,000 of which came from Badgerline. The former King Street Barracks site in Aberdeen was selected as the headquarters.

In April 1995, FirstBus was formed through the merger of the Badgerline and GRT Bus Groups, with fleets in England, Wales and Scotland. As GRT Bus Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing six former nationalised bus companies in England and Scotland. In January 1989, Grampian Regional Transport, the bus operator in Aberdeen owned by Grampian Regional Council, was privatized in a management buyout led by its then general manager Moir Lockhead. As Badgerline Group, it expanded through acquisition purchasing other formerly nationalised bus companies in England and Wales. In September 1986 the Somerset based services of the Bristol Omnibus Company that were rebranded in 1985 as Badgerline were purchased in a management buyout. Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B9TL in September 2012ДЇirstGroup originated from the deregulation of bus services in the United Kingdom in 1986, whereby private companies purchased nationalised and municipal bus operators.

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