First MTR South Western Trains Limited, a joint venture between FirstGroup plc
(the 'Group') subsidiary First Rail Holdings Limited ('FRH') and MTR
Corporation (UK) Limited ('MTR UK'), has submitted a bid to the
Department for Transport in respect of the
South-Western-franchise
The two shareholders have also entered into a joint venture agreement governing
First MTR South Western Trains Limited, which amongst other terms provides
that, in the event of a default by either shareholder, the other shareholder
will have the right to acquire the defaulting shareholder's shares for fair
value, such amount not being subject to any cap.
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First run services to the south west via their Great Western franchise |
As a consequence and by application of Chapter 10 of the Listing Rules, the Group is required to comply with Listing Rule
10.4.1. In compliance with that obligation, the Group provides the following
information: under the joint venture terms FRH holds 70% of the equity in First
MTR South Western Trains Limited and MTR UK holds the remaining 30%, with MTR
UK acquiring its shares from FRH for an aggregate consideration of £30, which
has been satisfied from MTR UK's existing financial resources. First MTR South
Western Trains Limited has no trading history and has gross assets of £100.
The franchise is currently operated by Stagecoach who are also in competition to continue to operate the services.