Update on 9 December 2025: One Railway project making progress

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Behind the scenes, there’s been a great deal of activity to move forward with the One Railway project. As we approach the end of the year, Charlie Wright, who has a leading role in the project and is a director of both SVR (Holdings) and the SVR Company Limited, brings everyone up to date:

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Just to refresh your memory, the One Railway project is an ambitious scheme to restructure the SVR to improve its resilience, transparency and efficiency. It will see the conversion of SVR (Holdings) into a Charitable Community Benefit Society, followed by amalgamation with the SVR Company Limited. The project was backed by SVRH shareholders and SVR Company members at their AGMs earlier this year.

Whilst things have been quiet on the surface in recent months, behind the scenes there’s been a great deal of painstaking work taking place.

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We’ve worked with the Cooperative Society and Bates Wells to prepare an application which they have presented on our behalf to the Finance Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA service standards indicate that we should expect to hear back from them any day now.

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The FCA regulates Community Benefit Societies and has the power to decide whether our application is acceptable or whether they require any amendments to our rules and constitution. Once the conversion has taken place, the CCBS will report annually to the FCA.

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In parallel to the application, the One Railway project team continues to work on several detailed tasks and practicalities so that things will be ready to progress the conversion to a CCBS as soon as possible in the new year, and we will be able to give a firm date for this as soon as possible.

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With all of this going on, it seems appropriate to highlight to existing shareholders and potential shareholders that the window for buying shares is getting shorter. Any transactions must be completed before the conversion.  If you wish to buy shares before conversion, please contact shareholders@svrlive.com to request a form as soon as possible or download here: svr.co.uk/shares

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We expect that once the conversion has happened, the shareholdings and their attendant entitlements will be fixed as outlined in the One Railway booklet. This is viewable on the One Railway page, using the password supplied in the original letter to shareholders. If you have any difficulties with accessing this, please contact onerailway@svrlive.com .​

 

Notes: 

 

1. The Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC Board can allot shares when approached, from time to time, by people wishing to subscribe for shares. 

2. SVR's Share Registrars are:

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Neville Registrars Limited,

Neville House,

Steelpark Road,

Halesowen,

West Midlands, B62 8HD
Share Enquries: 0121 585 1131    

Email: info@nevilleregistrars.co.uk 

Web: http://www.svr.co.uk/Membership.aspx

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