UK - Following news in the last issue of Truck & Bus Builder (October 2019) announcing the collapse of the Wrights Group of Ballymena, Bamford Bus Company Ltd of Leatherhead, a newly formed subsidiary company of AB&C Manufacturing Ltd (2006) set up and owned by Joseph Bamford, on October 22, 2019 announced it had acquired Wrightbus. Bamford (41) is reported to have had an extensive background in manufacturing, purchasing and sales worldwide gained when employed at family firm, JCB, which he is able to bring to Wrightbus. (Bamford left the family business JCB in 2016 where he was latterly managing director of global accounts. He then formed Ryze Hydrogen, a company that manufactures hydrogen fuelling systems for heavy duty transport.)

One of the first contracts for Ryse Hydrogen was announced in May 2019, and this was the announcement that it had won a 10-year contract from Transport for London to supply hydrogen refuelling systems for 20 Wrightbus hydrogen fuel cell buses with deliveries starting in 2020.