Going underground

With a cashflow crisis brewing and irate French shareholders trying to sack the board, investors would be forgiven for steering clear of Eurotunnel. But if bondholders dig deeper, they will see that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Oliver Holtaway reports

The corporate bond market was kick-started by American rail companies borrowing money to finance new tracks. In those days, bondholders found it difficult to evaluate the credit quality of the railway operators because of the sheer distances involved. Today, Europe’s most high-profile railway infrastructure project, Eurotunnel, continues to befuddle investors. This time, the problem is a complicated capital structure and a poor reputation in the debt capital markets.

The summer saw yet another