MTR joins FirstGroup's South Western bid

摘要

FirstGroup announced on June 16 that it had formed a joint venture with MTR Corp (UK) to bid for the replacement South Western franchise. Alongside incumbent Stagecoach, FirstGroup had been announced as the only other shortlisted biddeT in February (RBI503 p1). MTR will take a 30% stake in the joint venture, which required approval from DfT. This move was simplified by both companies holding a DfT Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Passport, confirming that they have satisfied basic financial and other competence criteria (RBI500 p7).