 When London Country Bus Services was broken up in 1986, route 797 passed with the Stevenage depot to London Country North East, sold in 1988 to AJS Group, which established the Sovereign brand.The operation was sold in 1990 to Luton & District Transport, which was itself then acquired by Arriva Shires & Essex.In 1996, Arriva sold the route back to Sovereign, by then owned by the Blazefield Group.