West Midlands Trains secures £50m for new rail depot

West Midlands Trains (WMT) has secured a £50m investment from Angel Trains for the development of its Tyseley rail depot.

The funding will be used to enhance the facility for maintaining WMT’s new rolling stock.

Law firm Burges Salmon has assisted WMT. The legal team was led by partners Chris Simms and Colin Ligman, with support from Pat Parkin, Louis Bothamley, and Madeleine Henson, who provided advice in finance, real estate, and rail regulation.

Chris Simms

Simms said: “It has been a pleasure working with WMT on this significant investment, a great example of the private sector investing in and supporting the national rail network. This was a complex transaction, involving many parties including Angel Trains, Network Rail, the Department for Transport, and the Office of Rail and Road.

“Our understanding of the rail sector, and our experience acting for both private and public sector bodies, meant we had the expertise to guide our client through this ambitious venture.”

Robert Stansfeld, financing & treasury director at Transport UK Group, said: “We’d like to thank the Burges Salmon team for their ongoing support and excellent advice on this project. The firm understood our objectives from the outset and collaborated with all parties to get us to a successful outcome.”