that Optare had, once again, been acquired by its management. This change did not affect the further roll out of the new range, leading to the Versa and a radically restyled Solo (the Solo SR), both with a distinctive raised part of the roofline towards the front of the bus. Darwen purchase and subsequent reverse takeover On 12 March 2008, Optare was purchased by Jamesstan Investments, an investment company controlled by the Darwen Group's parent company chairman Ron Stanley. Optare initially remained an independent company but by 17 July 2008, a reverse takeover by Darwen Group had been completed. Darwen was the much smaller company, but its Alternative Investment Market listing saw the enlarged Optare gain a stock exchange listing itself as Optare plc. The combined business employs 830 people with a £90 million turnover. With the respective histories of the two entities, Optare plc can be considered the successor company to the historical British bus manufacturers Charles H Roe (through Optare), founded in Leeds in 1923, and East Lancashire Coachbuilders, (through Darwen), founded in 1934 in Blackburn. Optare plc The Optare website was relaunched with a new logo, and with the ex East Lancs Olympus and Esteem models marketed as Optare products. At the time of merger, Optare manufactured buses from three sites, the primary sites being in Leeds (the former Leyland Bus site) and Blackburn (the former East Lancs site), with a further facility in Rotherham. The merger brought together the single deck and midibus portfolio of Optare, with the primarily double deck order book of Darwen. After the merger, Optare began rationalisation of its bus manufacturing business. In 2009 the production of Esteem single-deck bodywork was ceased, and the manufacturing site at Rotherham was closed. Ashok Leyland acquisition and name rebrand In summer 2010, Ashok Leyland (the former Indian subsidiary of British Leyland) bought a 26% stake in Optare. Subsequently, in December 2011 Ashok Leyland increased its stake to 75%. In 2011, a new fully enclosed 13,000 m² factory opened in Sherburn-in-Elmet, replacing the Leeds plant. In 2012, the former East Lancs site also closed putting all manufacturing processes under one roof. In June 2015, Optare was delisted from the Alternative Investment Market. In October 2017, Ashok Leyland increased its shareholding to 98%, and in 2018 to 99%. In November 2020, Ashok Leyland announced Optare will be rebranded Switch Mobility. In July 2021, Switch Mobility Ltd announced