Eastbourne Buses was sold to the Stagecoach Group on 18 December 2008 for £3.7 million, beating Go-Ahead to the ownership.

[2] At the beginning of 2008, the traffic commissioner fined the company for failing to run services on time.

[3] In June 2008, it was reported that the borough council intended to sell its 80% majority shareholding in the company.

The sale has caused considerable controversy, with MPs criticising the secrecy surrounding the sale[7] and blaming each other's parties for the state the Eastbourne Buses got into, the Liberal Democrats claiming the Conservatives "failed to support Eastbourne Buses".

[8] However, it was revealed that Go-Ahead had bid much lower at £2.85 million, so the council was forced to sell to Stagecoach, despite the union's calls.