The government has confirmed that London & Continental Railways, the company which owns the high-speed Channel Tunnel link, is to be sold off in 2009.
Tom Harris, the Rail Minister, told MPs today that LCR, which manages the lines, would be restructured and sold to the highest bidder.
The company will be split into three separate entities, the biggest being LCR’s infrastructure such as the newly opened St Pancras (pictured) and Stratford lines. The company’s land interests, which include the site of the athletes’ village for the 2012 Olympic Games and a big retail park in Stratford, will form a second unit, while the third asset is LCR’s stake in Eurostar.
Competition
The auction is expected to fetch more than £6 billion with the proceeds going to the treasury, which underwrote the debt for the high-speed link.
Mr Harris said that the sale would be “an open, competitive process”, and it is expected to attract a string of bidders.
Interested parties are though to include Goldman Sachs and sovereign funds from the Middle East, Dubai and Singapore, as well as unnamed British companies.
November 21, 2007
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