Transport & logistics
Eversholt Rail Group (‘Eversholt’) is one of the three leading rolling stock leasing companies in the UK. 3i Infrastructure acquired its 33% interest in Eversholt in December 2010 as part of a consortium with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and STAR Capital Partners, who each also held 33% stakes. The consortium acquired 100% of Eversholt’s share capital from HSBC, where the business had been run as a leasing sub-division of the bank and was formerly known as HSBC Rail.
Over a period of four years, 3i Infrastructure and our consortium partners worked closely with the management team to establish Eversholt as a successful independent company, supporting the business in its re-franchising programme and in assessing a range of capital investment opportunities in its existing fleet and new build trains. The shareholders helped to optimise the company’s capital structure, through the issuance of long-term bonds, institutional private placements and bank finance.
In January 2015, 3i Infrastructure sold its stake in Eversholt to CK Investments S.A R.L., generating net proceeds of £365 million.
“Eversholt Rail has performed strongly, both operationally and financially, under the consortium’s ownership providing, managing and maintaining key UK rail assets.” Mary Kenny, Chief Executive, Eversholt Rail
Regulatory information
This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc.