 Southend Transport was sold by Southend Borough Council to the British Bus group in June 1993 for a reported £1, which in turn was taken over by the "Cowie" group.Cowie was renamed Arriva in August 1998 and Southend Transport was renamed "Arriva serving Southend" as part of this rebranding.Although the 'serving Southend' local identity caption has now been phased out, it can still be seen on the sides of some of their buses.