Virgin Group aims to raise $900 million for rail service bid, company says

By Rishabh Jaiswal

(Reuters) -British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group aims to raise 700 million pounds ($900 million) to fund its plan to launch cross-channel rail services as it looks to compete with Eurostar, the company said on Sunday.

Virgin, which used to operate intercity train services in Britain, plans to launch services that would connect London with Paris and Brussels. It would also extend to Amsterdam in the future.

Virgin Group intends to raise 300 million pounds in equity and 400 million pounds in debt, the company told Reuters, confirming a report in Financial Times, which was the first to report on the news.

It also plans to be a cornerstone equity investor in the project.

Virgin's plans are for a high-frequency service, which would be the first direct rival to Eurostar's 30-year-old network and could launch as soon as 2029, the company said.

"The cross-Channel route is ripe for change and would benefit from competition," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

"While Virgin is not committing to launching a service just yet, we are seeking investment from likeminded partners to invest alongside Virgin and we are delighted with the progress made so far," the company said.

Eurostar told the FT it welcomed the development of rail services in Europe, adding that "competition in the high-speed rail sector is another example of the growing demand for rail transport in Europe."

Eurostar did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

($1 = 0.7740 pounds)

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard, Christopher Cushing and Tomasz Janowski)