Driving and operating a tour minibus

[Macneil]

I've got a few years to go until retirement and I've been a professional driver for a large part of my working life, HGV all over the UK for many years bookended with delivery driving all over the midlands, Wales, and north west of /england. I can drive a minibus on my licence but I've never held a pcv licence, in fact I don't even know if they're still called that, and I've no idea about operators' regs and licensing

Mrs M's work is beavily involved with tourism and she's well connected in the industry We both see the scope for a small friendly private tour operation using a nice smart minibus, 6 or 7 passengers tops. Single vehicle driven by me. I'm not looking to make a fortune, I'll be quite comfortable and have enough to invest around 30k into a nice vehicle without needing to make a massive return in the first year or two.

But what about licensing etc? premises? Would I be a miniature bus company with massive overheads or an upmarket taxi operating from my garage?
I would really appreciate anyone who would take the time to drop a bit of advice about some of the rules and potential annual costs.

[Macneil]

I did wonder about the number of passengers as I see loads of MPV style taxis outside stations. I’ve seen a few nice Merc vans with six seats. Ideally a biggish vehicle and six roomy seats in the back plus the guide in the front.

I have thought about working for a local firm in wales, but in the long term I would like to make some money out of it and would want to be able to work directly for the people paying and also possibly bring the kids in at some point. That said I appreciate that learning the basics as an employee is a very sensible course of action, and would work well if I wind down the hours nearing retirement.