Beleaguered train operator Eurostar has agreed a £250m (€290m) refinancing package with its shareholders and banks.
The package consists primarily of additional equity and loans from a syndicate of banks that has been guaranteed by its shareholders.
These include SNCF, the French state railway group; Eurostar’s majority shareholder, Patina Rail LLP; a vehicle backed by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ); funds managed by the infrastructure team of Federated Hermes; and SNCB, the Belgian state train operator.
Jacques Damas, chief executive of Eurostar, said: “Everyone at Eurostar is encouraged by this strong show of support from our shareholders and banks which will allow us to continue to provide this important service for passengers.
“Eurostar will continue to work closely with governments to move towards a safe easing of travel restrictions and streamlining of border processes to allow passengers to travel safely and seamlessly.
“Their co-ordinated actions and decisions are crucial to the restoring of demand and the financial recovery of our business.”
Looking to the future, Eurostar said its focus will be on restoring travel on its key routes between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. To this end, it will increase the number of trains on the London-Paris route to two daily from 27 May, adding a third at the end of June.
