Team size: 20

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

A key workstream our team has been involved with over the past year is supporting the business with the post Williams-Shapps rail reform. In May 2021, the UK Government published the long-awaited Williams-Shapps Plan for rail. The plan represents the most significant change to rail since privatisation and includes a 20-year vision, which Trainline deeply supports, to deliver a retail revolution for rail passengers. In June 2022, the Government confirmed via a consultation that it expects to achieve this by leveraging private sector innovation, including Trainline’s leading train and coach app, alongside the creation of a new state-backed retailer, Great British Railways.

Given the significance of the plan, Trainline’s general counsel rapidly re-organised the legal team to create a new branch dedicated to supporting the plan, and its implications for Trainline. Various aspects of the plan create novel policy, legal and regulatory issues. These issues lie at the centre of Trainline’s long term strategy, and we have leveraged relationships with external legal advisors, both existing and new, to deliver suitable advice at all levels of the organisation.

The Trainline Partner Solutions (TPS) arm of the business provides tools containing multi-jurisdictional rail content to businesses and travel sellers, as well as providing white-label online booking platform capabilities to several rail operators. Trainline’s legal team recently played a critical role in the conclusion of TPS’ first European white-label deal with Italian challenger brand NTV Italo, through which TPS will provide a platform for Italo to retail multi-modal tickets. This expansion of the white-label offering was a key milestone in Trainline’s strategic priority to grow the TPS business.

During summer 2022, Trainline’s legal team was also heavily involved in establishing a new £325m revolving credit facility with an initial maturity date of November 2025, with the option to extend to November 2027. The new facility replaces our existing £350m revolving credit facility, which was due to expire in June 2024.

Trainline has also significantly scaled its international business with new offices opening in Milan, Barcelona and Paris. To accelerate international growth, there has been increased investment in customer experience, expansion of our performance marketing capabilities and launches of numerous brand marketing campaigns in these core markets. Trainline’s legal team has been fundamental to this international growth, providing legal support in relation to all growth activities across all core markets.

James Hanratty