It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services in 1986 as London Country South East (LCSE) and operated a fleet of around 170 buses from four garages, with its headquarters located in Northfleet, subsequently rebranding to Kentish Bus in 1987.

In the run-up to deregulation, London Country Bus Services was broken into four smaller companies on 7 September 1986.

[2][3] London Country South East was the smallest of the four, with just 169 buses and garages in Dartford, Dunton Green, Northfleet and Swanley, with some London Regional Transport contracts operated from the former National Travel garages in Victoria and Catford, with the head office in an office in Dartford.

The company was renamed Kentish Bus & Coach in April 1987, and a new maroon and cream livery, loosely based on the colours of the erstwhile Colchester Corporation Transport, replaced the former London Country green.

On 15 March 1988, Kentish Bus was sold to Proudmutual Limited,[5] the management buyout who already owned Northumbria Motor Services.