Severn Valley Railway in line to make £3m from its shares
Bosses of The Severn Valley Railway say they are on track to raise £3 million from selling shares – and have sold a quarter of their total in just six weeks.
The railway, which runs steam trains between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster, passed the £750,000 mark this week, with bosses seeing a surge in sales during the run-up to Christmas.
Money raised through the shares, which cost £1 each, will help pay for a new visitor centre and spectator gallery at Bridgnorth Station, and a Heritage Engineering and Building Training Academy.
The SVR takes on two apprentices every year, but the academy could boost that figure to 15, with young apprentices learning specialist engineering skills to help preserve the railway for future generations.
Funding will also go towards the restoration of the Great Western Railway locomotive Hagley Hall and its carriages, and ongoing maintenance and refurbishment work along the railway line and its stations.
Nick Paul, Severn Valley Railway chairman, said: "I am delighted by the rapid and wide response to the 2012 share offer from both new and existing shareholders.
"It is reassuring that our plans for the railway are being endorsed and supported financially. Parents and grandparents appear to be buying shares as Christmas presents for family members this year."
The minimum investment in shares is £100, followed by multiples of £25.
The 16-mile railway carries more than 200,000 passengers a year. For further details or to receive a copy of the share offer document, Share the Passion, visit www.svr.co.uk/shareoffer or email shareoffer@svr.co.uk
