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High Speed 1 rail bidders joined by new partners
GOLDMAN Sachs and Groupe Eurotunnel have expanded their bidding group for Britain’s only high-speed rail line as first-round bids were due for the £1.5bn route yesterday.
The British government is selling “High Speed 1” which has a 30-year concession to run a 110-kilometre (70 mile) railway linking London and the Channel Tunnel, to help cut its Budget deficit.
The “GB Speedrail” group, already consisting of Eurotunnel, Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners and M&G’s Infracapital, has been joined by two financial backers, Britain’s Universities Superannuation Scheme, and France’s Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. A spokesman for the group said. “We will make an indicative bid today.”
The group is vying with at least two rival teams.