Transport group Arriva has strengthened its position on the Continent with a £10.3m deal for a Danish bus operator.

The Sunderland plc, which operates more than 6,000 buses and two rail franchises in the UK, acquired Wulff Bus A/S.

Wulff operates city and regional bus services in Jutland, Denmark, and employs 600 staff to run a fleet of 300 vehicles.

The acquisition is a positive result for Arriva which has suffered recently in its rail division.

The company's Arriva Trains Northern operation lost the race for the new northern rail franchise to Serco/Netherlands Railway. That compounded the company's previous loss of the TransPennine Express franchise to a consortium of First Group and French transport operator Keolis.

Arriva has enjoyed a stronger showing in mainland Europe, having first entered the Danish market in 1997.

It is now the major bus services operator in the country, with about a third of the national market and a 40 per cent share in the Greater Copenhagen area. The company also operates two passenger rail franchises in Jutland.

Bob Davies, Arriva's chief executive, said: "Wulff's bus operations in Jutland and Copenhagen have a strong geographic fit with our existing business. This acquisition provides an excellent opportunity to deliver increased service efficiency and quality. In Jutland we will be able to focus on developing greater integration of public transport."

Arriva has public transport operations in eight member states of the European Union - the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy.