J&K Coaches Ltd marks 20 years in business
07/04/2025
Established in 2005, this year sees a significant milestone for J&K Coaches Ltd in Moneymore, Co Derry, and what a long way the company have come over these past two decades. Irish Trucker spoke with Managing Company Director Jim Quinn to hear all about the current state of business for his firm, its ever-expanding fleet and plans to mark the 20th anniversary of its establishment.
When Derry man Jim Quinn set-up J&K Coaches Ltd 20 years ago, he did so with the intention of one day heading up an operation which would be renowned for its reliable and professional coach services throughout Ireland, UK and Europe.
Today, the company employs 130 full-time staff and has 60 vehicles in its fleet which are, of course, maintained to the highest standard year-round, while its team of experienced drivers ensure passengers a seamless and enjoyable journey.
Down through the years, J&K Coaches Ltd have specialised in passenger transport for the likes of corporate events, school outings and private hire and, along the way, have continued to remain dedicated in providing an excellent service to make transportation a stress-free and enjoyable experience for clientele.
Irish Trucker caught up with owner and founder Jim Quinn to find out more about the business and what he feels has been the secret behind its longevity and ultimate success to date.
“Thankfully, the first couple of weeks of this year have been nice and moderate business-wise, which has been very welcoming for us as 2024 for us was overly busy.
“Our turnover for 2023 saw a 40% increase from the previous year. By the end of February 2025, we will have exceeded a 100% of a increase on 2024. So, we’re sort of glad that we have a little bit of a breather now between signing new contracts and meeting with our 2025 tour drivers online” he outlined.
“The 130 staff that we have here doesn’t include those tour drivers we have that come in for the seasonal part as well. The tour driver chat that we had this morning had 45 on it, so during the busy season we could have 150 to 160 driving for us.”
Rewind back five years ago or so and the company was in a different place. Then again, so were many companies because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The transport and tourism industries were certainly hit hard by those unprecedented times.
J&K Coaches Ltd weathered the storm and 2024 will go down as one of the best years business-wise for the company, according to Jim.
“As for the levels of work and growth that’s going on within the transport industry since Covid, we are back to where we were pre-Covid, in fact we are better than we were pre Covid,” he stated.
“It gives us good confidence for further growth. Probably the biggest bonus that we have is the country we live in; it is a magnet for tourism and people love to come to Ireland.
“Business is rapid and we’re very confident that we’ll see further growth this year.”
With that further growth, comes more investment and Jim has never been shy to invest in order to improve the business.
Some new coaches have already been added to the fleet in the early part of 2025. These coaches are the first of their type to come into Ireland, complying with zero 6 efficiencies, straight out of the factory. As a company, 2024 saw J&K Coaches’ significantly invest in their vehicles and personnel.
“We just took delivery of a couple of brand-new vehicles recently,” said the Managing Director. “In 2024, our investment level spend was just over £2.5m on vehicles and in staff development. So, it’s just been a rapid and full growth and it’s really coming back at a strong level.
“The other part of it is that you have to have a love for the industry, a love for transport and a love for meeting people and all the rest. That makes the journey more enjoyable.
“For me running a business, where do I put all my plaudits? I put it to my people and my staff. It’s all about my people and vested interest in my people, not just in a business sense but it’s also in a personal sense as well.
“We’re all family inside of work and outside of work, so we all need to be there to support one another, and I find operating with that ethos has given us a strong backbone.”
With this ethos in mind, Jim went on to win Businessperson of the year 2024 at the Mid Ulster Business Awards, again a true reflection on his commitment to his staff and his wider support to the community.
Three years ago, J&K Coaches Ltd saw its sister company Croga Tours officially being launched and, since that time, it has seen some rapid growth.
Croga, which is the Irish word for brave, is a constant reminder to step boldly outside the expected to shape authentic, original tours for the company’s clients.
It creates custom-made tours from decades of cultural knowledge, contacts and understanding of visitor experiences in Ireland. History, sports, peace, faith, music, nature - Croga is a Tour Operator and Destination Management Company (DMC) with the expertise to build unforgettable, unparalleled tours that will raise your reputation and make memories that last.
As Jim himself points out, Croga Tours has been something which was in making many years before its official establishment.
“In 2022, we launched Croga Tours to the outbound market, the staff had already been there under J&K Tours for seven years prior to it,” said the Managing Director.
“We started to quickly develop an inbound DMC for Ireland on Croga Tours over the international market and it is starting now to really take off.
“The expansion of Croga Tours in the last 12 months alone has seen a turnover increase of 86 percent. We’re now in a position to approach another key target market which will see further huge potential to the company and staff, as well as a huge boost for tourism into Ireland as a whole. We completed a lot of Europe last year, targeting the European markets and we’re now targeting further international markets.
“So, it’s starting to gather good pace and we’re now meeting the right people and getting the right feedback to enhance our products and services. That’s down to the fact we’re now establishing ourselves as a tour operator and an inbound DMC operator under the Croga brand, which we see is helping the pace of it.
“We can do the full package and that’s where the whole rapid growth is coming from and it’s just spiralling on into our coach end and into our corporate end and into our tours. It’s just been year on year of growth, especially since Covid.”
Overall, the signs are vastly positive for J&K Coaches Ltd going forward.
Later this year, the company is set to mark its 20th anniversary and, as Jim outlined, the plans for the special occasion will not be down to him, but down to his valued and trusted staff in Moneymore.
“We hope to have our health, for company growth to continue to flourish and most importantly to listen to our customers and to adapt and cater for their needs” Jim said on his overall hopes for 2025.
“My people will have a huge input on what we do with the company’s 20th anniversary celebrations. It won’t be me. I love the comradery of us altogether. I love everybody’s input, so it’s going to be left up to them.”
Fantastic to hear.
J&K Coaches Ltd
4 Coltrim Road,
Moneymore,
Co Derry
BT45 7QG
Tel: 028867 37776
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Trucker magazine March/April 2025, Vol 28-2
