Hong Kong’s newest export? MTR looks to sell trains-and-property business model in UK and Sweden
Transport giant chases deals for London Euston station, as well as trying to replicate its local station mall success in small Swedish town
Hong Kong’s rail operator is looking to export its trademark trains-and-property business model abroad, in an attempt to strengthen its expansion into competitive markets in Europe and beyond.
MTR Corporation chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang said the company was in talks to develop commercial and residential property above railway stations in London and Stockholm, where he said managers were not yet maximising stations’ commercial potential.
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It is understood that MTR will work with UK developer Canary Wharf Group to bid later this year to redevelop Euston station, one of London’s busiest railway hubs. Euston will be the terminal of the UK’s first domestic high-speed rail line.
Sources said the Euston project would cover 22 hectares, mixing property development with rail services, with new buildings above and around both the current Euston station and the future high-speed rail station. MTR Corp is separately bidding for the franchise to run the high-speed line between London and Birmingham, along with mainland company Guangshen Railway.
Depending on which contract is awarded first, the Euston station project or another one in Stockholm stands to be MTR’s first attempt to implement its model outside Hong Kong.
