Bosses of three British train leasing firms received £3.5m as companies paid £391m in dividends

The chief executives of Porterbrook, Eversholt Rail and Angel Trains, three companies that lease trains to Britain’s railways, received a combined £3.5m in pay in 2025, The Guardian reported on 2 October 2026. The companies also paid £391m in dividends, according to its review of their accounts. The figures arrive as the UK government considers whether publicly owning some future trains could offer better value for passengers and taxpayers.

The reported totals bring attention to how trains are financed, rather than showing that any company broke a rule. Most passenger trains have been owned by rolling stock companies and leased to operators for more than three decades, according to the Department for Transport. The government now plans to compare that arrangement with public ownership and other financing options when it procures new trains.

What the three companies paid

The Guardian reported that Porterbrook paid £80m in dividends and paid its chief executive, Mary Grant, £1.44m, an increase of more than 10%. Eversholt Rail paid £200m in dividends, while its departing chief executive, Mary Kenny, received £1.33m. Angel Trains paid £111m in dividends and paid its chief executive, Malcolm Brown, £700,000. The three reported dividend payments add to £391m; the named pay figures add to about £3.47m, rounded to £3.5m.

The £200m Eversholt distribution was made in 2025 shortly before CK Hutchison sold the company to Beacon Rail, The Guardian reported. The timing of that payment is part of the account of what happened; the reported figures alone do not establish a connection between the dividend and the sale terms.

How train leasing fits into railway costs

Rolling stock companies own trains and lease them to operators. The Department for Transport says this has generally been the default arrangement for passenger trains for more than 30 years. Its new strategy concerns decisions on future procurements; existing leasing contracts remain in place.

The Guardian reported that operators spent more than £4bn leasing trains from rolling stock companies in the prior year. That leasing figure is a cost across the railway, while the £391m figure describes dividends reported for three companies. They are different measures and should not be treated as a direct comparison of fares paid with money distributed to shareholders.

An earlier Office of Rail and Road series provides a broader, separately dated measure. For April 2024 to March 2025, the regulator reported an 18.5% net profit margin and £275m in dividends across six rolling stock companies. Those results cover a different group and reporting period from the three companies’ 2025 account figures, so the two dividend totals do not describe a single year’s like-for-like change.

Union criticism and company responses

The RMT union called for a levy on rolling stock company profits after the figures were reported. Its general secretary, Eddie Dempsey, told The Guardian the union wanted a ‘cost of travel’ levy to fund a 3.4% fare cut. That proposed cut is the union’s estimate, not an announced government policy or an established outcome for passengers.

Porterbrook told The Guardian it had deployed more than £1bn since 2020 in new trains, fleet upgrades, traction innovation and rail infrastructure, and was looking to invest a further £1bn. The company said shareholder funding made substantial railway investment possible. Angel Trains said future fleet decisions should focus on passenger outcomes while preserving conditions that attract investment, and that it would work with the government and Great British Railways.

The Guardian said it approached Eversholt Rail and its new owner, Beacon Rail, for comment. Its report contained no response from either. The absence of a response leaves their position on the reported payments and the government’s proposed approach unstated in that report.

What changes for future trains

In a strategy announced on 28 September, the Department for Transport said Great British Railways would assess public ownership, leasing and other financing arrangements case by case for future train purchases. Ministers say buying trains outright could offer savings in some circumstances, but the strategy does not commit the government to buying every future fleet or quantify savings already achieved.

The strategy also calls for trains, track, depots and maintenance to be planned together. The government says that approach should improve reliability and give the rail supply chain a clearer view of future work. Whether a particular new fleet is bought or leased will depend on the assessment for that procurement; the reported company payments do not settle those future decisions.