Financial Times: NR exploring options for property portfolio

[LTJ87]

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

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.

 

[WatcherZero]

Old news, but the Government has been trying to get NR to privatise its (profitable) portfolio by selling shares in it or using it to underwrite bonds. This conflict between the bit of NR that is truly profitable and the Government looking short term at offsetting costs and making a quick buck (which would increase NR costs in the longer term as it reduces their income) has been going on for some time. It came to a head last year (possibly year before) when NR wanted to spend a Billion Pounds expanding its commercial property portfolio by acquiring another major landlord and the Government blocked the move.

In theory the government is telling them to make the most of their portfolio by investing in office developments and expanding retail, in practise its also telling them to do the opposite and that these are non-core activities diverting money that should be used on the infrastructure of the railways.

 

[DarloRich]

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

yeah wonderful - buy your prime investment land here. Good rates for top tory boys :roll:
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

In theory the government is telling them to make the most of their portfolio by investing in office developments and expanding retail, in practise its also telling them to do the opposite and that these are non-core activities diverting money that should be used on the infrastructure of the railways.

No: it will be telling them to see lit off cheap and ensure they don't make the return on the land. The stupid thing is that those profits cross fertilise investment in the railway.

As for selling off the telecoms network: :roll: A recipe for disaster

 

[Tio Terry]

Darlorich

Why do you think selling off spare capacity in the telecoms network would be a disaster? There are many thousand km of unused dark fibre just waiting to be used over the network. It's all there in the ground, just needs to be connected and can earn the company a small fortune, what's the problem?

 

[DarloRich]

Darlorich

Why do you think selling off spare capacity in the telecoms network would be a disaster? There are many thousand km of unused dark fibre just waiting to be used over the network. It's all there in the ground, just needs to be connected and can earn the company a small fortune, what's the problem?

Because it wont just be the spare capacity will it? That will be the beginning of the gradual creep to disposing of the whole network, cheaply, into private hands.

Then any funds earned through using that network space wont go back into the railway network they will go to shareholders and the operational needs of the railways wont be met without a battle.

 

[adrock1976]

Forgive me if my perceptions are incorrect here, but are Rothschild's the financial organisation that has been pushing the neo-con liberal agenda when Bush Junior was president of the USA, also aided and abetted by various governments across the globe?

This may warrant a new thread in the General Discussion section if it is true.

 

[yorksrob]

Darlo Rich is correct.

If there is spare capacity in the telephone lines, the sensible thing would be to rent it out. This is another case of the Tories trying to flog the family silver.

 

[WatcherZero]

Forgive me if my perceptions are incorrect here, but are Rothschild's the financial organisation that has been pushing the neo-con liberal agenda when Bush Junior was president of the USA, also aided and abetted by various governments across the globe?

This may warrant a new thread in the General Discussion section if it is true.

I think your thinking of Kellog/halliburton. The Rothchilds are the extremely rich jewish family who all have mansions in a small valley in Buckinghamshire.

 

[asylumxl]

They could do worse than the Rothschild Group. I'm quite surprised they didn't choose Goldman Sachs since it seems that this government is particularly fond of them, having been involved in the privatisation of Royal Mail among other things.

They say you can tell a lot about people by the company they keep. Considering there are 17 subheadings under "Controversies" on the Wikipedia page for Goldman Sachs...

 

[LateThanNever]

Because it wont just be the spare capacity will it? That will be the beginning of the gradual creep to disposing of the whole network, cheaply, into private hands.

Then any funds earned through using that network space wont go back into the railway network they will go to shareholders and the operational needs of the railways wont be met without a battle.

True. You can sell the family silver only once!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

They have started selling off the government share (36.5%) in the King's Cross Railway Lands.
Money going to pay down debt.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...investment-in-kings-cross-central-development

This is the remaining land after finishing the St Pancras International/HS1 development and the Thameslink connection to the ECML.
I guess it is not strictly Network Rail land any more, but was at one time Midland/GNR property.

The government’s principal objective is to maximise value for money for the UK taxpayer by executing a competitive sale process. Lazard has been appointed as financial adviser to conduct the sale process, supported by Savills as real estate advisers.

The 67-acre King’s Cross estate is being developed into 8 million square feet of mixed use space, consisting of offices, apartments, retail space, educational establishments and leisure areas across 50 new and refurbished buildings, and with 26 acres of public realm, including 10 new parks and squares, 20 new streets and 3 new bridges across the Regent’s Canal. Its occupiers include Google, BNP Paribas Real Estate, the Aga Khan Development Network, and University of the Arts London.

 

[DarloRich]

Money going to pay down debt.

Not back into the railway industry nor will the future income from that land. I am sorry to labour this point but it is short sighted in the extreme to dispose of this and other property holdings.

The ongoing profits/income from these schemes are extra monies to put into our network. Will the government make up that shourtfall in the future?

 

[Elecman]

True. You can sell the family silver only once!

Not if they privatise Network Rail, they will then gave sold it twice!!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Not back into the railway industry nor will the future income from that land. I am sorry to labour this point but it is short sighted in the extreme to dispose of this and other property holdings.

The ongoing profits/income from these schemes are extra monies to put into our network. Will the government make up that shourtfall in the future?

Somebody's got to pay for Network Rail's £34 billion debt, sometime.
It doesn't grow on trees.

 

[Stats]

Somebody's got to pay for Network Rail's £34 billion debt, sometime.
It doesn't grow on trees.

But it's not going to pay NR's debt. The proceeds are going straight into the Treasury's coffers.

 

[Poolie]

Somebody's got to pay for Network Rail's £34 billion debt, sometime.
It doesn't grow on trees.

Try telling the banks that !!!!!

Who paid for the billions of (W)Bankers debts when they came begging because their dodgy deals went t!ts up ? And still get a massive bonus while we are told to buckle down and help the country out in a time of crisis !!! :-x

 

[NSEFAN]

I've heard some say that "the government has no business doing business", but I would rather that NR cross-subsidises its infrastructure using profit from its retail side. I despair at how bad our government is at thinking beyond the next election. By all means rent out spare capacity to bring in money but don't flog the lot outright, as you then have no assets and no money coming in at all. :-x