FIRSTGROUP PLC - Statement re: Shortlisting for West Coast Partnership

Statement re: Shortlisting for West Coast Partnership rail franchise competition

First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Limited, the partnership between FirstGroup plc (‘FirstGroup’) and Trenitalia UK Limited (‘Trenitalia’), has today been shortlisted by the Department for Transport for the West Coast Partnership.

Commenting, Steve Montgomery, First Rail Managing Director said:

"FirstGroup, with our partner Trenitalia, will bid for the upcoming West Coast Partnership. We are well positioned with our partner to develop a completely new customer proposition both on the West Coast route, and, through the exciting opportunity this franchise offers, to design and run initial services on the HS2 network.

“We have a strong track record in delivering continued modernisation and investment, alongside industry partners, through our rail operating companies Great Western Railway, TransPennine Express and Rail Operator of the Year, Hull Trains. In August, we will begin operating the South Western rail franchise where we will deliver £1.2bn of investment and improve the experience for customers, with better trains, more seats and quicker journeys.

“Our partner Trenitalia is one of Europe’s top railway operators, and manages long haul services, both on high speed and conventional lines, as well as regional and metropolitan services. That complements our expertise in running long distance services such as those found on the West Coast routes.”

Commenting, Barbara Morgante, CEO of Trenitalia, said:

“Trenitalia will bring FS Italiane Group’s industry-leading high speed rail knowledge to the West Coast Partnership. Since our acquisition of the c2c franchise, we have overseen a significant improvement in the network’s performance and we are now looking forward to bringing this experience to the wider UK market.

“We believe that the UK rail market provides an excellent opportunity for the group to leverage its experience accrued in the highly competitive Italian market.

“Together with FirstGroup, we will focus on the customer experience and look forward to developing innovative proposals through which West Coast and HS2 passengers will be able to realise the most benefit from our services.”

Notes

1.   First Rail Holdings (‘FRH’) and Trenitalia UK have entered into an agreement governing First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Limited to participate in the West Coast Partnership franchise competition, which amongst other terms provides that, in the event of a default by either shareholder, the other shareholder will have the right to acquire the defaulting shareholder's shares for fair value, such amount not being subject to any cap. As a consequence, and by application of Chapter 10 of the Listing Rules (in particular paragraph 5R (3A) of Annex 1 to Chapter 10), the Group is required to comply with Listing Rule 10.4.1. In compliance with that obligation, the Group provides the following information: under the terms of the partnership FRH holds 70% of the equity in First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Limited and Trenitalia UK holds the remaining 30%, with Trenitalia UK acquiring its shares from FRH for an aggregate consideration of £30, which has been satisfied from Trenitalia UK's existing financial resources. First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Limited has no trading history and has gross assets of £100.

2.   Both FirstGroup and Trenitalia hold 'Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Passports' with DfT Rail Executive which shows that they have satisfied basic financial and other competence criteria and allows them to submit franchise bids to Government. In December 2015, Trenitalia became the first new entrant to be awarded a PQQ Passport by the Department for Transport and since then is pursuing a number of franchise opportunities.

FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) FirstGroup plc is a leading transport operator in the UK and North America. With £5.7 billion in revenue and more than 100,000 employees, we transported around two billion passengers last year. Each of our five divisions is a leader in its field: In North America, First Student is the largest provider of student transportation with a fleet of around 44,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest providers of outsourced transit management and contracting services, while Greyhound is the only nationwide operator of scheduled intercity coaches. In the UK, First Bus is one of Britain's largest bus operators, transporting 1.6 million passengers a day, and we are one of the country's most experienced rail operators, carrying around 130 million passengers last year. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world... keeping people moving and communities prospering.

Trenitalia is the passenger rail transportation company part of FS Italiane Group, a major industrial player with an increasing international presence and   operating revenues of over 5 billion euros. FS Group runs 8,000 trains a day, serving 600 million passengers and carrying 50 million tons of freight a year, over a network exceeding 16,700 kilometres. The group’s objective is to develop a large-scale mobility and logistics project capable of contributing to the country’s economic growth. The holding company, FS Italiane, controls companies active in specific core businesses – all of which, in terms of safety levels and technological standards, are European leaders. Trenitalia, the group’s rail transportation company, is one of Europe’s top railway operators, and manages passenger transport with its long haul connections, both on high speed (Frecciarossa) and conventional lines, as well as regional and metropolitan services. On February 13th 2017 Trenitalia completed the acquisition of the c2c franchise from National Express. Other companies belonging to the FS Italiane Group include RFI, Busitalia, Italferr, Mercitalia, Ferservizi, Italcertifer, Centostazioni, GS Rail, FS Sistemi Urbani, Netinera Deutschland, TX Logistik and Thello.

Contacts at FirstGroup:

Faisal Tabbah, Head of Investor Relations, [phone]

Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Media, [phone]

[e-mail]

Contacts at Brunswick PR:

Michael Harrison / Andrew Porter, Tel: [phone]

Contacts at Trenitalia UK:

Giovanni Sanfelice di Monteforte, Tancredi, 07775 858152

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