“Through their Constructive Challenge process FCP played a significant part in reducing the cost of the West Coast Route Modernisation from £13bn to £8.2bn, whilst maintaining the integrity of the programme outputs of speed, capacity and reliability”

John McLean, Department for Transport Project Sponsor

Due Diligence

When considering an acquisition it is clearly essential for the buyer to have as clear a view as possible of all of the target company's activities - not just the financial dimensions. Similarly if governments are considering whether or not to terminate a contract it is sensible if they have as informed a view as possible about the company's current performance and future prospects.

First Class Partnerships has extensive experience in the field of reviewing – activity by activity and in as much detail as required – the performance of rail companies of all kinds, whether in passenger train operations, freight, or in engineering and infrastructure. We have undertaken thorough-going in depth business reviews of a number of train companies, reviewing their functional performance, organisation and relationships and company strategies including their marketing, business and financial plans. Such reviews have often included reviews of company plans in relation to safety, security and the environment; and train crew deployment and productivity.

In the field of infrastructure we have carried out extensive reviews of major and multi-disciplinary projects, subjecting many of them to a technical challenge process that in Britain has resulted in savings of many billions of pounds sterling to the taxpayer.

First Class Partnerships provides strategic, commercial, operations, engineering and infrastructure rail consultancy and advice to leading rail companies, investors in rail, governments and regulators around the globe.