§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on Railtrack's cashflow position. [18937]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe cashflow of Railtrack plc is being managed by the administrator, to ensure the continued operations of the company, drawing down from the loan agreement that was put in place at the time of the administration, as necessary.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if Railtrack will be permitted to raise investment funding from any other source apart from the Government during the administration period. [18934]
§ Mr. JamiesonUnder paragraph 8.1.10 of the loan agreement, made available to the administrator, the administrator has the power to raise or borrow money.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what public subsidy to Railtrack in administration has been requested by the administrator for the period 7 October to the end of the 2001–02 financial year. [18953]
§ Mr. JamiesonThere is no public subsidy being provided to Railtrack in administration. Funding for Railtrack plc in administration is being provided through a commercial loan agreement, copies of which are in the House Library.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimates the Railtrack administrator has made of the final cost of completing the west coast main line modernisation. [19001]
§ Mr. JamiesonA number of options for taking the project forward are currently under discussion. Until these discussions have been concluded, and final outputs agreed, an estimated cost of completion will not be known.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what was the most recent estimate by Railtrack of the total cost of the west coast main line modernisation prior to administration. [18954]
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§ Mr. JamiesonRailtrack's 2001 Network Management Statement, published in May, estimated the cost of the project at £6.3 billion.
§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what procedures the Government are putting in place to ensure that routine(a) track and (b) signal maintenance is carried on a scheduled basis during the period of administration. [19850]
§ Mr. JamiesonThis is a matter for the administrator. The Government will continue to provide the administrator with sufficient funding to ensure the rail network operates on a "business as usual" basis during the administration period.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 23 November 2001,Official Report, column 496W, on Railtrack, what his Department's assessment of the value of the assets of Railtrack plc was as at 5 October. [19780]
§ Mr. ByersThe Department assessed the cash-flows that the assets would generate, and concluded that they would be insufficient to cover Railtrack's debt liability payments.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 21 November 2001,Official Report, column 277W, on Railtrack, what his Department's estimate of the cash needs of Railtrack plc in administration is in addition to the £3.5 billion already identified. [19910]
§ Mr. ByersThe cash needs of Railtrack plc in administration will depend on how long it remains in administration.
§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what is the credit rating of Railtrack bonds. [19425]
§ Mr. SpellarRailtrack bonds currently have a long term credit rating of BB+ from Standard & Poor's and Baal from Moody's Investors Service.
§ Peter BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 26 November 2001,Official Report, column 606W, on Railtrack, how many Railtrack shares were held by (a) individual and (b) institutional investors at flotation and in each subsequent year. [19841]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe number1 of shares in Railtrack Group plc held by individual and institutional investors at flotation on 20 May 1996 and in each subsequent year—as detailed in the Annual Report and Accounts—is shown in the table.
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Million Individual Institutional 20 May 1996 290 210 24 April 1997 170 325 5 May 1998 150 355 30 April 1999 115 390 5 May 2000 90 420 1 May 2001 90 430 1 Figures rounded to the nearest 5 million
§ Peter BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the average Railtrack shareholding of individual investors was in each year since flotation. [19842]
§ Mr. JamiesonThis information is not available to the Department.
§ Peter BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in(a) cash and (b) percentage terms, what profit including
Value of share at sale Sale price minus flotation price (£) Dividends received before date of sale (£) Cross cash return on flotation price (£) Gross percentage return on flotation price Highest value on 23 November 1998 = £17.68 13.88 0.60 14.48 381 Lowest value on 20 September 2001 = £2.52 -1.28 1.40 0.12 3 Average value between 20 May 1996 and 5 October 2001 = £9.15 5.35 11.13 6.48 171 1 Shares were traded at the average daily share price several times, all falling in the 2000–01 financial year. Dividend payments therefore assume that the share was sold in 2000–01. The returns do not take account of any tax liabilities or transaction charges paid by individual investors.
§ Peter BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proportion of Railtrack shares were held by institutional investors on(a) 1 May and (b) the first of each month up to 1 October. [19494]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe proportion of shares in Railtrack Group plc held by institutional investors on 1 May 2001—as detailed in the Annual Report and Accounts—was 83 per cent. Information on the proportion held on the first of each month up to 1 October is not available to the Department.