The Financial Times is reporting that Network Rail has appointed Rothschild to examine options for its property portfolio (excluding stations) to be sold or redeveloped:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/84288e2e-4268-11e5-b98b-87c7270955cf.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/84288e2e-4268-11e5-b98b-87c7270955cf.html
Network Rail has appointed the investment bank Rothschild to assess its £1bn commercial property portfolio, which could be sold or redeveloped.
The debt-laden organisation that runs the UK rail network has swaths of land around railway lines and also owns commercial property that brought in £266m in rent last year, making it one of its more profitable activities.
The property to be valued does not include stations but does include the railway arches that are home to hundreds of small businesses ranging from car mechanics to hairdressers and bars. A sale of telecoms rights at the moment Network Rail runs systems providing wifi and signalling information for trains may also be considered.