Management buys out Abellio UK from Dutch

East Midlands Railway and shares in Greater Anglia, WMT, and Merseyrail to be transferred to new UK company.

DUTCH state-owned railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) is to withdraw from rail operations in Britain with the management buyout of its subsidiary, Abellio UK, which currently has 15,000 employees.

Transport UK Group Ltd, led by Abellio UK managing director Dominic Booth, will take over ownership of East Midlands Railway and Abellio UK’s stakes in Greater Anglia (60%) and West Midlands Trains (85%).

Japanese corporation Mitsui is the other shareholder in both of these businesses.

Also included in the buyout is Abellio’s 50% share in the current Merseyrail train operating company, which is a joint venture with Serco.

Approval required

Before the deal, which also includes the handover of more than 50 London bus routes, can be completed, it requires regulatory consent from the Office for Rail & Road and approval from the Department for Transport, Transport for

London, and the Liverpool City Region’s transport executive Merseytravel.

Saying he was “thrilled” to be returning services to UK ownership, Mr Booth added: “We expect the business to transfer by the end of the year, following which we will focus all our energies and expertise on continuing to deliver the best possible services for our passengers.”

Completion of the buyout will mark the end of almost 20 years of NS involvement in the UK rail industry, which began when its subsidiary, NedRailways (later renamed Abellio), and Serco took on Merseyrail in 2003. Between 2004 and 2016, the companies also held the Northern franchise. Abellio was the ScotRail franchisee from April 2015 until March 31 this year, when the Scottish Government terminated its contract due to poor performance and took over operation itself.

Sell-off

Although Abellio UK is said to make an operating profit, NS had started to reprioritise its international holdings even before the Covid-19 pandemic, based on financial value and the interests of passengers in the Netherlands.

As part of its plan for postpandemic recovery, NS is seeking to permanently reduce its costs by €250 billion (£210 million) from 2024.

PAUL BICKERDYKE Merseyrail was Abellio’s first step into UK rail operations when it teamed up with Serco to run the service from July 2003. Merseyrail EMU No. 507018 is pictured at Lime Street’s Wirral Line platform on January 28, 2020.