The McAlpine Estate now holds the shares, and Jeremy Hosking's increased his shareholding in the company since then. In 2017 the company made a profit, post tax, of £406,916. The year prior the company itself made a record profit, but a
huge portion of this came with a one off sale of £950k, which was used to settle a loan that had no penalties for early payment.
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As for "what defines a premier league line" I'd say it would be general appeal and economic impact if it wasn't there. Between them, the WHR and FR draw in a staggering £25m in extra economic activity per year. When the SVR closed due to the track erosion businesses actually went to the wall due to the drop in people coming to the region. Even a "tiny" line like the KWVR can count itself as a member of the Premier League due to its ability to nab the Bronte crowd and historically interesting stock roster.
So, a Premier League Line should generally go from "somewhere" to "somewhere" ideally with both ends of the line being interesting places in their own right. They should encourage people out of their cars for day trips through an area that might otherwise be clogged up with traffic and, hopefully, act as an initial "draw" for a family or couple to head to the region to begin with.
So the Premier League is still defined as a bit nebulous, but there are probably around 10-15 or so railways that can consider themselves in this bracket. (Out of around 100+ or so railways...) The top of my head list is below, showing 14 that fit this category.
- Severn Valley Railway
- Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
- WHR&FR
- Talyllyn Railway
- Kent and East Sussex
- Gloucester & Warwickshire Steam Railway
- Dartmouth Steam Railway
- North Yorkshire Moors Railway
- Bluebell Railway
- Swanage Railway
- West Somerset Railway
- East Lancs Railway
- Strathspey Railway
- Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway