TRAIN BOOKING WEBSITE IS TO FLOAT FOR £1.5bn

THE most popular train booking website in the UK is to float on the London Stock Exchange for a reported £1.5bn.

Trainline, which lets people book train and bus journeys via its website and app, plans to offload a 25pc stake. This will include its private equity owner KKR selling part of its holding, and issuing new stock to raise £50m.

Boss Clare Gilmartin ( pictured) said the time was right for the move as it seeks to benefit from a push by European governments to encourage train travel. More than 60pc of tickets are sold offline, she said, showing the potential to grow further.

Trainline tells customers they can expect to save about 50pc on their tickets by booking through its website. But it is not necessarily cheaper than booking in advance from National Rail or the websites of individual companies.

It was started in 1997 as part of Virgin Rail, and now employs 600 staff, operates in 45 European and Asian countries, and generates annual sales of £3.2bn. It made an adjusted profit of £52.7m.