Eurostar ‘in advanced talks’ with UK and French governments over state-backed loans
Eurostar is reportedly in advanced talks with the UK and French governments to secure state-backed loans after passenger numbers tumbled during the pandemic.
The head of French rail group SNCF, which is the largest shareholder in Eurostar, said it needs to finalise the deal by next month to help it survive the rest of the Covid crisis.
Jean-Pierre Farandou, the chief executive of SNCF, said France and the UK were in “ongoing very advanced discussions” with Eurostar over a potential government-backed loan.
“We are getting closer to the moment when Eurostar will have real cash flow problems . . . By next month, we have to conclude these discussions,” Farandou told the Financial Times.
Passengers numbers on Eurostar services have plummeted at least 95 per cent since the coronavirus pandemic swept through Europe in March last year.
Shareholders have already handed over €200m to keep the train operator going while traveller numbers have fallen.
However, the firm said the money was “finite”.
“We hope that it will be weeks [not months] because the financial situation is going to be very difficult at the end of May, start of June,” Farandou told the newspaper.
Eurostar has been in discussions with the UK government over the possibility of a state-backed commercial loan to help it through the crisis, although there is no guarantee that there will be an agreement, the FT said.
It has reportedly held talks over £60m of loans backed by UK Export Finance.