Yuo got in better than me geogre, 228p for me so am waiting a bit longer.,.

do i go or do i stay.............. decisions decisions.,.

BB - this is probably helping over the last couple of days - FirstGroup trumps Virgin as frontrunner for west coast rail franchise

glad i stayed, how far will it go is the next question.,.

238p in profit, must watch carefully through August when decision is made for franchise. Many thanks skinny for info.,.

Balerboy - you may find this interesting.


An increasingly bitter competition for control of the West Coast Main Line was branded a "shambles" yesterday as anticipation mounted that Virgin Trains could be shunted off Britain's railways. Louise Ellman, chairman of the Commons Transport Select Committee, has joined unions and industry experts in urging the Government to think carefully before handing a franchise to operate London-to-Glasgow trains to FirstGroup, a rival to Virgin. FirstGroup has offered to pay nearly £7bn in profits to the Government if it wins a 14-year contract to operate the line from December, when the existing franchise expires. Its bid is about £1bn higher than Virgin's offer but will involve deep cost-cutting, The Times says.

we don't know when in August the decision is to be made do we skinny?

Threat to Richard Branson’s train empire

Virgin’s presence on Britain’s rail network could be derailed as FirstGroup offers £1bn more for the West Coast franchise.

13th August is the day.

Thanks UB

look at this one go so glad i didn't bale out....... smug look on face .,.

Well done relaybob, so sorry I didn't get in after I flagged it up, I attribute that to my HFD experience. However my strategy to buy prior to going ex-div has worked well with FGP not quite so well with HFD, but improving as the sp rises.
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Monday will be the day, if they get the franchise might go to £3.,.

Virgin prepares for legal fight over West Coast line

Virgin Trains is preparing for a legal fight over its last remaining rail franchise, as ministers prepare to award the contract for the prestigious West Coast line to rival FirstGroup.

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains will push for a judicial review if the Department for Transport awards the 14-year franchise to FirstGroup this week as expected, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

Virgin has been operating West Coast services between London and Scotland for 15 years through a joint venture with Stagecoach. However, insiders say Virgin Trains now faces an uncertain future, with one senior source warning: "It could be farewell to Virgin Trains."

FirstGroup is thought to have made what industry insiders describe as a "suicide" offer of £6.5bn-7bn to run the West Coast line, outbidding Virgin, its closest competitor for the franchise, by about £1bn.
Dutch train company, Abellio, and France's SNCF are believed to have bid close to, or below, the £5bn mark.

Thanks skinny. Is it a wait and see or take the money and run???

Virgin could lose rail franchise
Aug 12 2012

Sir Richard Branson could lose his West Coast rail franchise this week, with a transport union warning that the switch in ownership could mean higher fares, poorer services and job losses.
The Government is due to announce the winner of the bidding for a new West Coast franchise in the next few days.

It is thought that Sir Richard's company Virgin Trains has lost out to transport giant FirstGroup in the battle to operate the London to Scotland line on which tilting, high-speed Pendolino trains run.

The Government announcement comes as the rail industry comes to terms with the need to comply with cost-cutting recommendations made in a Whitehall-commissioned report by Sir Roy McNulty.

The RMT transport union is opposed to the McNulty views and very concerned about the West Coast situation.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Whoever wins the West Coast route next week, and all the signs point to FirstGroup, they should be left in no doubt that we will mount a massive industrial, political and public campaign to stop any attacks on our members' jobs and the services that they provide to the travelling public.

"From leaked figures it is clear that this franchise is being let on pure McNulty terms with a gold-plated, 12-year contract linked to massive cuts to jobs and passenger services and huge increases in fares as the winning bidder battles to extract every penny that they can in profit."

FGP have done really well since just before going ex-divi, putting on 40p+ and with the divi of 16p gives a 25% ish return quick time. Is this going to be a case of better to travel than arrive.
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From "This is Money"

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Rail Group is preparing to launch a legal fightback if, as expected, it is stripped of the lucrative West Coast rail franchise this week.
Virgin is resigned to losing the London to Glasgow franchise it has held for the past 15 years. The Department for Transport is expected to hand the franchise to transport company FirstGroup.

Several leaks have suggested that FirstGroup has bid between £6.5billion and £7billion for the 14-year contract, which would be as much as 20 per cent more than Virgin is understood to have tabled.


Sources close to Virgin said lawyers were examining points on which they might win a judicial review of the bidding process – including whether the evaluation has given enough weight to public service. The decision over the awarding of the franchise will be announced on Tuesday.

The two other contenders – Abellio of the Netherlands and the French Keolis/SNCF – are understood to be out of the bidding.

GS put FGP on conviction buy list with tp raised 20% to 360p. Hang on tight bb and skinny.
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