A Wrexham & Shropshire Train set of newly refurbished coaches now undergoing operational test-running
Peter Wilkinson

Peter Wilkinson

peter.wilkinson@renaissancetrains.com

Peter Wilkinson CV (PDF 41kb)

About Peter Wilkinson

Pete is the Managing Director and an owner-partner of First Class Partnerships. Pete has full P+L accountability for all aspects of the development and management of this highly respected consultancy company. A former railway managing and commercial director and a board member of one of the world’s leading financial institutions, Pete is of the Industry’s most universally recognised and respected strategic and commercial advisors. Pete is a leading strategy advisor to both public and private sector rail organisations throughout Europe, Australasia and the Middle East, specialising in the restructuring of rail industry structures and their commercialisation, Pete has been instrumental in the market entry of corporate entities into the rail industry across Europe.

Peter was Lead Advisor to Deutsche Bank and Lloyds TSB in the successful acquisition of the Porterbrook rolling stock leasing company (ROSCO) from Santander and to Deutsche Bank in its strategic investment as a part of Babcock’s acquisition of the Angel Trains ROSCO from RBS.

He was the lead rail advisor appointed by to Deutsche Bahn and was instrumental in both their UK market entry strategy and their acquisition of Chiltern Franchise and the two part shares in the London Rail Concession and the Wrexham and Shropshire Railway.

Peter has been the lead commercial and strategic advisor to a number of UK rail concessions and franchises and was instrumental in the successful awards of the Integrated Kent Franchise to GoVia, The Cross Country Franchise to Arriva Plc, the West Midlands Franchise to GoVia and the London Rail Concession to the Laing/MTR Joint Venture.

Peter is also a co-owner and Director of Renaissance Trains Limited, the Open Access promoter behind Hull Trains and the Wrexham and Shropshire Railway on who’s holding company he remains a Board Member and in which he is an investor/shareholder.

Pete was previously appointed by the UK Department for Transport as Chief Negotiator for the complex exit negotiations and commercial restructuring of a number of key UK franchises. This involved tri-partite negotiations between DfT, Network Rail and a large train operating owning group. Previously, Pete led for the government, the re-franchising of the Greater Anglia, South Eastern and InterCity East Coast rail franchises in the UK, both of which are now very successful and financially strong franchises.

Internationally, Pete advises a range of rail transport authorities and train operating companies in countries including Australia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark, Argentina, Poland, Hungary and other central and eastern European transport authorities.

Pete is recognised for having assisted a number of foreign investment and operating companies successfully enter the UK and other commercialised rail markets in Europe, including the Danish state railway (DSB), SNCF and the Hong Kong MTR-Corporation.

Prior to a break from the UK rail sector, during which he worked on the world’s financial markets as a Board member with a multi-national financial services group, Pete had worked in Britain’s railways for over 9 years, starting within the London Underground. Pete has held a number of very senior industry posts, having pursued a career in general management with an emphasis on the commercial activities and industry structures underpinning financially viable rail operations.

In 1998 Pete was appointed a member of the Labour Government’s Finance and Industry Group. This influential body of industrialists exists to advise members of The Cabinet and very senior civil servants on matters relating to the definition of industrial and economic policy and the implications of implementation.

Pete joined British Rail in 1994 as Managing Director of an engineering services company and was responsible for its commercial revival through the active marketing of its services throughout the rail industries of the UK, Hong Kong and Eastern Europe. This regeneration laid the foundations for the successful privatisation of this company, the process of which Pete led. This company remains highly successful operating in the private sector to this day.

At BR Board HQ, Pete supported the preparation of South and East group train operating companies for privatisation. Instrumental in shaping and implementing the performance regime still embracing the train operating companies within this region today, Pete was then appointed Commercial Director of West Anglia and Great Northern train operating company. He took a leadership role in restructuring the commercial organisation, significantly enhancing the revenue profile of this TOC and ensuring its successful transfer into the private sector.

Prior to joining the BR Board, Pete was a General Manager of the London Underground (LUL). He joined LUL when the company was still recovering from the colossal human and financial effects of the fire which engulfed the ticket hall at Kings Cross station in 1987. Pete played a significant role in the process of restructuring the company into self accounting businesses with modern corporate governance and was a key figure in breaking the stranglehold of the Unions over outdated and restrictive working practises prevalent throughout the depots and workshops and engineering structures by removing them to the position of becoming ‘support services’.

Peter is Chairman of London’s Borough Market Trust which is Britain’s most important retail and wholesale market for fine foods and winner of
  • The Evening Standard London’s Best Shopping Experience Award
  • The Evening Standard London’s Best Market Award
  • The NABMA (National Association of British Market Authorities) Best Specialty Market 2008 Award
  • The Observer Food Magazine’s ‘Best Market in the Country’
Pete has an Honours degree in Industrial Science that he took at the University of Sheffield in 1984. He is also a master’s graduate of the renowned French AXA owned University of business management in Bordeaux, having completed 2 years of financial and risk management.

Peter lives in Vienna, Austria but works from his base in London during each week.