Statement re South Western rail franchise compe...

FIRSTGROUP PLC
SOUTH WESTERN RAIL FRANCHISE COMPETITION

First MTR South Western Trains Limited, a joint venture between FirstGroup plc (the ‘Group’) subsidiary First Rail Holdings Limited (‘FRH’) and MTR Corporation (UK) Limited (‘MTR UK’), has today submitted a bid to the Department for Transport in respect of the South Western rail franchise.

The two shareholders have also entered into a joint venture agreement governing First MTR South Western Trains Limited, 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 joint venture terms FRH holds 70% of the equity in First MTR South Western Trains Limited and MTR UK holds the remaining 30%, with MTR UK acquiring its shares from FRH for an aggregate consideration of £30, which has been satisfied from MTR UK's existing financial resources. First MTR South Western Trains Limited has no trading history and has gross assets of £100.

Further information, FirstGroup plc:
Faisal Tabbah, Head of Investor Relations
Tel: [phone]