Ashurst is advising longstanding client National Express Group on the acquisition of the c2c rail franchise by Trenitalia.

c2c operates services between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness, serving 26 stations in East London and South Essex. Under National Express, the c2c franchise has been transformed with National Express introducing more services, new trains and recently pioneering new customer service standards.

Under the terms of the acquisition, the total consideration payable to National Express is expected to be in the region of £70 million. Completion of the acquisition is conditional upon final consent from the Department for Transport and is expected to occur within the next three to four weeks.

Trenitalia will retain c2c’s existing management and staff and build on its successful track record of delivering value for passengers. In addition to delivering the existing plans for the franchise, Trenitalia has also committed to invest for further improvements for all c2c’s customers based on innovative technologies at the heart of its strategy for the franchise globally.

National Express Group is a leading public transport operator with bus, coach and rail services in the UK, Continental Europe, North Africa, North America and the Middle East. The Group has a fleet of over 27,000 vehicles and more than 867 million journeys are made on National Express Services each year. National Express Group is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (NEX.L), and is a constituent of the FTSE 250.

Trenitalia is the passenger rail transportation company part of FS Italiane Group which runs 8,000 trains a day, serving 600 million passengers and carrying 50 million tons of freight a year, over a network exceeding 16,000 kilometres.

The Ashurst team advising National Express is being led by corporate partners Tom Mercer, Terry van Poortvliet and Jan Sanders with assistance from senior corporate associate Themo Georgiou, corporate associate Jake Hadfield and transport specialist counsel Stuart Cottis.

Also advising are employment counsel David Baxter and senior associate Sean Coyne; finance partner Mark Vickers with senior associate Campbell Johnson and associate James Frixou; pensions partner Marcus Fink; tax partner Nicholas Gardner with senior associate Tim Gummer; corporate senior associate James Fletcher, and associate Adam Eskdale.