DfT capital demands for West Coast bidders did not follow guidance

The DfT did not make spell out what the capital requirements for bidders for the West Coast Main Line franchise were and did not follow its own guidance on calculating these requirements.

The initial findings of the Laidlaw review into the debacle highlight that the lack of transparency over how the subordinated loan facilities Virgin and First had to provide were worked out. Virgin had complained about this lack of transparency and the DfT knew that this left it open to legal challenge.

The...

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