(Read well £ 700 mlns of books in the title (and not 900 mlns))
by Rishabh Jaiswal
(Reuters) -Virgin Group, the British billionaire group Richard Branson, wishes to raise 700 million pounds (835 million euros) to finance its transmanche rail service project and thus compete in Eurostar, said the company on Sunday.
Virgin, who previously operated interurban trains in Great Britain, plans to link London to Paris and Brussels, then in Amsterdam.
Virgin Group plans to raise 300 million pounds in equity and 400 million in debts, said the company in Reuters, confirming information from the Financial Times. It also plans to be a leading investor in the project.
The company LIVES A high frequency service which would be the first direct competitor of the Eurostar network and could be launched in 2029.
“The Transmanche route is ripe for change and would benefit from competition,” a spokesperson said in a statement sent by email.
“Although Virgin does not yet undertake to launch a service, we are looking for investments with partners sharing the same ideas to invest alongside Virgin and we are delighted with the progress made so far.”
Eurostar told the FT that he welcomed the development of rail services in Europe, adding that “competition in the high -speed trains sector is another example of increasing demand for rail transport in Europe”.
The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
(Written by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bangalore, Benjamin Mallet)
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