COACH, bus and car body manufacturer Mayflower is seeking to fund expansion plans by raising more than £66m in a rights issue.

The group, which owns Plaxtons, in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, is launching a fully underwritten 4-for-11 rights issue of up to 95,290,598 shares at 70p each.

It is expected to raise about £66.7m and will give May-flower "greater financial flexibility", the group said.

Mayflower has two core divisions - TransBus International, which makes whole buses, bodies and chassis and includes the Plaxtons plant, and Mayflower Vehicle Systems, which supplies automotive manufacturers in the UK, US and Germany.

News of the issue came three days after Mayflower revealed a £70m deal with transport firms London United, Metroline Travel and Go-Ahead to provide London with up to 320 buses.

The vehicles will be built at its plants in Guildford, Wigan and Falkirk, Scotland.

Last August, more than 500 staff were made redundant from the Scarborough TransBus plant, when minbus production was transferred to its Falkirk plant.