Dominic Booth ‘thrilled to have the opportunity to return key public transport services back into UK ownership’ as Dutch owners exit market

 
Abellio UK operates four rail companies, including Greater Anglia (pictured)

 
Dutch national railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen is exiting the UK public transport sector after 20 years. A management buyout will pave the way for a new UK-based company to take over all Abellio UK’s existing services. The new company will be called Transport UK Group Limited.

The buyout is led by managing director Dominic Booth, who has decades of experience running public transport services in the UK. He expects the business to transfer by the end of the year, subject to approval by the Department for Transport, Transport for London and the Liverpool City Region as well as the Office of Rail and Road.

Nederlandse Spoorwegen has been active in the UK market since 2002 but now wants to focus on domestic service provision within, and international railway services to and from, the Netherlands. The Abellio UK business employs more than 15,000 people. It operates four rail companies – East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail and West Midlands Trains – and has around 9% of the London bus market.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to return key public transport services back into UK ownership at a time when some of our competitors look destined for overseas ownership

Commenting on the deal, Booth said: “I’ve been a railwayman all my life. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to return key public transport services back into UK ownership at a time when some of our competitors look destined for overseas ownership.”

He added: “This deal will put us in a strong position to continue the smooth operating of our current routes as well as giving us the capability to grow the business and bid for new franchises in the future. Beyond that, we are, and will continue to be, thought leaders in our sector determined to play a long-term and vital role in the future of UK transport.”

 
This story appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.

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