Go-Ahead Group PLC (LSE:GOG) is facing a government takeover of the Govia Thameslink rail franchise, according to a newspaper report.
Plans have been drawn up to nationalise the service, which runs commuter services into and around London, after Go-Ahead delayed publishing its annual accounts for a second time at the start of the week due to a payments scandal at Southeastern, the other rail franchise it runs.
The Southeastern franchise, run in partnership by Go-ahead and Keolis, is under investigation into how it failed to return £25mln of money owed to the government and is now run by the Department of Transport.
Go-Ahead said this week it expects to publish its accounts for the year to July 2021 by the end of February.
The latest delay has been caused by the auditor’s reluctance to sign them off due to the uncertainty over how much Go-Ahead might have to pay in penalties and fines at Southeastern.
Govia Thameslink is the umbrella for three commuter services - Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern – which are some of the busiest commuter routes in the UK.
According to the Telegraph report, the Transport Department is still hopeful a deal might be struck to avoid taking it over.
Rail franchises in the UK have effectively been nationalised anyway with operators receiving emergency funding from the government and receiving set fees to run the trains.
Govia Thameslink’s current franchise runs out on 1 April and talks are still ongoing over a new contract, though the report said a shell company had already been created to take it over if no agreement is reached in time.