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RoSCo changes hands
As at 27th November 2024 21:42 GMT
 
OTD - 15 January (2015) - Eversholt RoSCo changes hands
Posted by grahame at 21:12, 14th January 2022
 
Read about RoSCos - ((here))

Three Rolling Stock Companies own the majority of trains running on the GB Network (and have done since the trains were sold off in privatisation some 28 years ago:
Angel Trains - https://angeltrains.co.uk
Eversholt - https://eversholtrail.co.uk/about-us/
Porterbrook - https://www.porterbrook.co.uk

There are some other owners around too who lease trains long term:
QW Rail Leasing
Macquarie European Rail
Beacon Rail
UK Rail Leasing
Rock Rail Limited

And some "spot hire" operators who hire out trains for short periods:
MiddlePeak Railways
GL Railease
Harry Needle Railroad Company
Riviera Trains
West Coast Railways
Eastern Rail Services

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by 4064ReadingAbbey at 15:18, 23rd January 2015
 
He owns Hutchison Whampoa....owners of the "3" network, and ex_Mercury Telecoms. Remember Rabbit?
Hutchison Whampoa owned Orange when I contracted for them in the mid-nineties. They used a largish distribution warehouse somewhere near Banbury that I used to visit and then there was lots of disused Rabbit transmitters and other kit all boxed up.

Mr Li visited from time to time. A quiet dapper man and very polite to all those around.

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by stuving at 11:53, 23rd January 2015
 
Looks like Li Ka-shing might be on a bit of a spending spree...

He has also just announced a plan to rejig the shareholding structure of the whole of his (very large) group. Allegedly to make it less opaque, but perhaps also to shift the more of the group outside China's influence.

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by ChrisB at 11:48, 23rd January 2015
 
He owns Hutchison Whampoa....owners of the "3" network, and ex_Mercury Telecoms. Remember Rabbit?

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by brizzlechris at 11:15, 23rd January 2015
 
Looks like Li Ka-shing might be on a bit of a spending spree...

Asia's richest person Li Ka-shing is in talks to buy Britain's second-largest mobile provider O2 for up to ^10.25bn ($15.4bn) from Spain's Telefonica.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30946005

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by ChrisB at 21:24, 21st January 2015
 
Indeed...if there hadn't been a sale, there wouldn't have been any profit realised and no '^700million', would there?

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by 4064ReadingAbbey at 21:01, 21st January 2015
 
The three investment funds that bought Eversholt in 2010, 3i, Morgan Stanley, Star Capital, have realised a huge profit on their purchase. With debt restructuring it comes in at around ^700 million. They picked up an absolute bargain when HSBC were forced by HMG to have a fire sale due to the banking crisis. Just think what lovely shiny new rolling stock that ^700 million could have bought. But then the investment funds were only out to make a quick buck. Never any intention on their part of a ling term strategy to invest and remain in charge. Trebles all round. 

Lets just hope the new owner has a long term plan for the business. With his links to China we might finally see some competitively priced rolling stock heading to the UK. Hopefully not procured in the same way as IEP was.

I don't understand why you are getting so hot under the collar. Investment funds are in business to make money and if HSBC screwed up their business then you can't blame the investment funds for that. If they hadn't bought the business then what do you think would have happened to it? In all likelihood it would have been dismembered and sold off piecemeal. If this were to be the case then the ^700 million would have been virtual money.

The ^700 million would _never_ have bought any trains - unless the income from these trains covered at least the opportunity cost of the investment.

Businesses are bought and sold on the basis of their future projects - not what has happened in the past. That is history. Mr Li obviously thinks that the business has a future - possibly also in other markets - and is therefore worth what has been paid for it. As for Mr Li's long term plans - well, he is 86 and his successors may well have different ideas.

Re: Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing buys Eversholt Rail for ^2.5bn
Posted by 4064ReadingAbbey at 20:44, 21st January 2015
 
Mods,

I would think this belongs in the 'RoSCo changes hands' thread...

...to avoid confusion!

Re: Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing buys Eversholt Rail for ^2.5bn
Posted by Red Squirrel at 19:31, 21st January 2015
 
That looks like about 8% yield over 19 years, which isn't too bad but they could have done better investing in property...

Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing buys Eversholt Rail for ^2.5bn
Posted by a-driver at 19:03, 21st January 2015
 
If you want to be make serious money in the railway industry you need to be in the business of leasing trains.  Remember the assets were bought for ^518m in 1996 from the DfT.

http://www.cityam.com/207520/hong-kong-billionaire-li-ka-shing-buys-eversholt-rail-25bn

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by JayMac at 15:11, 21st January 2015
 
Along with the ^358m profit, the investment funds also benefitted from the debt restructuring to the tune of ^300 million. That's if I read The Times right this morning. The Times did get their millions and billions mixed up though. Saying The investment funds had paid HSBC ^2.1 million.

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by ChrisB at 13:20, 21st January 2015
 
Mick talking out of his a**e again

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by grahame at 13:14, 21st January 2015
 
The ASLEF view - they make the profit on the deal just ^358 million !!!

http://www.aslef.org.uk/information/141986/trains_should_be_assets_not_commodities/

It was revealed yesterday that Eversholt Rail, one of the three rolling stock companies which owns around 28% of the UK^s fleet of passenger trains has been sold to a Hong Kong based company CK Investments for ^2.5 billion. CK Investments currently controls Northumbrian Water and mobile phone network Three. 3i Infrastructure who currently own Eversholt Rail along with investors Morgan Stanley and STAR Capital stand to make around ^358 million from the deal.

ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan said ^the news that Eversholt Rail is to be sold by one group of investors to another group of investors is a brutal reminder that the trains in Britain^s privatised railways are commodities not assets. CK Investments see an investment opportunity while millions of passengers across the UK rail network have had to endure rolling stock which is, on average, 40 years old.^

Mick added ^The Public Accounts Committee told us last week that the government has no long term strategy for the future of the rail industry. The UK rolling stock market is the greatest failure of rail privatisation and the sale of Eversholt Rail to yet another international investor who will profit from the British public purse demonstrates this scandalous situation is alive and well.^

The "40 years average age" surprises me - I would have gone for more like 20 years, though I know the figure's much higher in the FGW area - http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN03146.pdf backs me up

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by JayMac at 12:01, 21st January 2015
 
The three investment funds that bought Eversholt in 2010, 3i, Morgan Stanley, Star Capital, have realised a huge profit on their purchase. With debt restructuring it comes in at around ^700 million. They picked up an absolute bargain when HSBC were forced by HMG to have a fire sale due to the banking crisis. Just think what lovely shiny new rolling stock that ^700 million could have bought. But then the investment funds were only out to make a quick buck. Never any intention on their part of a ling term strategy to invest and remain in charge. Trebles all round. 

Lets just hope the new owner has a long term plan for the business. With his links to China we might finally see some competitively priced rolling stock heading to the UK. Hopefully not procured in the same way as IEP was.

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by ChrisB at 09:26, 21st January 2015
 
And Chiltern and their Mk3's....

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by grahame at 09:16, 21st January 2015
 
And doesn't Fgw own some of its fleet to make up a small percentage?
Not FirstGW itself but parent company First Group I believe.

I think the only TOC that has ever actually owned stock under the actual operating company was ATW's mrk2 stock, most of which hardly saw any use before they finally sold them all to one of the charter train firms.

I think South West Trains own the units which operate on the Island Line.    And there's also another (parent company, though?) setup with Grand Central and the HSTs they run?

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by Rhydgaled at 09:05, 21st January 2015
 
And doesn't Fgw own some of its fleet to make up a small percentage?
Not FirstGW itself but parent company First Group I believe.

I think the only TOC that has ever actually owned stock under the actual operating company was ATW's mrk2 stock, most of which hardly saw any use before they finally sold them all to one of the charter train firms.

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by ChrisB at 08:41, 21st January 2015
 
Five (?) HSTs I think

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by LiskeardRich at 23:38, 20th January 2015
 
And doesn't Fgw own some of its fleet to make up a small percentage?

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by paul7575 at 13:22, 20th January 2015
 

Who owns the other 72% these days?


Angel Trains about 30%:

"In August 2008 Angel Trains was acquired by a consortium of investors from Australia, Canada, Luxembourg and the UK."

Porterbrook about 30%:

"...a global investment consortium comprised of Alberta Investment Management Corporation (^AIMCo^), Allianz Capital Partners (^ACP^) on behalf of certain insurance companies of the Allianz Group, EDF Invest and Hastings Funds Management (^Hastings^) (together the ^Consortium^)"

Also a mini-rosco called Voyager leasing owns the relevant fleet.

Basically, despite changing ownership a few times, the three main Roscos have about 30% each and that has been fairly consistent over a 20 year period.

Re: RoSCo changes hands
Posted by ChrisB at 13:00, 20th January 2015
 
Ka-shing, or Ka-Ching? :-)

RoSCo changes hands
Posted by grahame at 12:54, 20th January 2015
 
Update - January 14th, 2022 - "On This Day" , 7 years ago, a major change of ownership of the trains on Great Britain's Railways.  I have followed up ((here)) at the end of this thread.

International Business Times

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/uk-train-firm-eversholt-sold-hong-kongs-cki-2-5bn-1484279?

UK train firm Eversholt sold to Hong Kong's CKI for ^2.5bn
Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing is behind CK Investments (CKI).

Eversholt Rail owns approximately 28% of the UK's passenger train fleet and had been under the consortium's ownership since 2010, according to the statement.

Who owns the other 72% these days?

 
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