News

UK government to sell 40% Eurostar stake

13 Oct 2014 by GrahamSmith

The UK government is planning to sell its 40 per cent share in Eurostar in the first quarter of next year.

Chancellor George Osborne today confirmed he is seeking bidders for the cross Channel operator and hopes to raise £300 million.

He said the move is part of a plan to raise circa £20 billion from corporate and financial asset sales by 2020.

Osborne said: "I am determined that we go on making the decisions to reform the British economy and tackle our debts. So we will proceed with the potential sale of the UK's shareholding in Eurostar today.

"Ensuring that we can deliver the best quality infrastructure for Britain and the best value for money for the taxpayer are key parts of our long-term economic plan."

The RMT union and the Labour Party have both criticised the proposed Eurostar sale.

Labour has warned of a "rushed and under-valued" sell-off similar to last year's Royal Mail sale.

Shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh said: "Eurostar is a national strategic asset that is set to grow and to return increased profits to the UK taxpayer with new routes to Geneva, Lyon, Marseille and Amsterdam.

"After the staggering incompetence of the Royal Mail sale fiasco, which lost taxpayers a billion pounds, people will worry that this is yet another rushed and undervalued sell-off.

"The National Audit Office should urgently conduct a value-for-money inquiry before this sale proceeds. We must ensure that taxpayers are not ripped off again by bungling ministers and poor financial advice from the City."

French state train company SNCF owns 55 per cent of Eurostar, Belgium's SNCB holds a 5 per cent share and the UK the remaining 40 per cent.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash added: "This compounds the issue of foreign ownership of Britain's railways as the French state has first refusal on our slice of the highly profitable Eurostar cake.

"The French and Belgians think we are insane knocking off such a valuable and strategic infrastructure asset."

Earlier this month, Eurostar will launch a year-round route to Geneva via Lille in December (see news, October 2).

eurostar.co.uk

Graham Smith

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