Trenitalia completes acquisition of c2c

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Photo: National Express.
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Italy’s state-owned rail operator, Trenitalia, has announced the completion of its acquisition of c2c from National Express.

The deal, which is worth around £72.6 million, had been subject to approval from the Department for Transport (DfT).

Trenitalia will now operate the franchise until it comes up for renewal in November 2029.

Today’s announcement confirmed that Julian Drury will stay on as managing director and that the existing organisational structure will be retained.

It also indicated that Trenitalia’s parent company, FS Italiane, paid an additional £35 million to settle an intercompany loan between National Express and c2c.

Barbara Morgante, chief executive of Trenitalia, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to conclude this acquisition so rapidly, and we can now immediately start to concentrate on the day-to-day business of c2c.

“Under the leadership of Julian Drury, we will continue to focus on delivering the outstanding service that helped make c2c the best performing operator in the UK and we will collaborate with the management to introduce further improvements.

“In addition to the c2c acquisition, our recent participation in the East Midlands and West Coast Partnership bids shows that we are strongly committed to the UK market, and look forward to passengers increasingly benefiting from our experience, competence and ability to innovate.

“I am confident that the good relationship established with the DfT, demonstrated by our recent mutual cooperation during the Change of Control phase, will be strengthened and reinforced over the next years, and be leveraged in future common innovative projects in line with British passengers’ demand.”

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