Virgin Group has kicked off its quest for investors to back a new high-speed rail service on the Channel Tunnel route, the first likely challenger to Eurostar’s monopoly in the region.

Two separate teasers, for the equity and debt processes, were distributed to the market earlier this month, with information memorandums due to be issued next week, according to sources.

Under the codename Project Bullet, Virgin is gauging interest from infrastructure investors on a GBP 200m equity raise, with the Sir Richard Branson-founded company providing another GBP 50m equity cheque, according to a teaser seen by Infralogic.

“It’s a huge undertaking to establish a new cross-Channel operator but the route is ripe for change and would benefit from competition,” a Virgin Group spokesperson told Infralogic in an emailed statement.

“Virgin is not committing to launching a service just yet, however, we can confirm that Virgin continues to advance it’s planning and preparation, which includes seeking an equity raise, and we are delighted with the progress so far,” the spokesperson added.

Virgin wants to enter the London-Europe high speed rail market by 2028, with plans to connect London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Eurostar has had a monopoly over cross channel foot passenger rail services for three decades, though it competes with the car shuttle service Eurotunnel.

In a parallel process, Virgin is also looking to raise hundreds of millions of debt to finance the procurement of 12 brand new trains, with a target of bringing them to service in 2028.

The selection of equity partners, with an IRR target of over 20%, is slated to be complete by October, with the debt financing and the order of the rolling stock due to follow in December, according to the teaser.

Perella Weinberg Partners is running the equity process for Virgin, with rail consultancy firm Apex Rail preparing the debt raise, as Infralogic reported last month.

Project Bullet marks a major comeback for Virgin into the UK rail market, where it operated the longest-running rail franchise via its Virgin Trains brand, which was launched in 1997 and made its last trip in 2019.

The new HSR service will be led by Phil Whittingham, the former Virgin Trains and Avanti West Coast CEO with over 25 years of experience in the rail industry.

Between 1997 and 2019 Virgin operated various UK networks, including Virgin Trains West coast between London and Glasgow along the UK’s west coast and Virgin Trains East Coast connecting London to Edinburgh.

Other challenger services to Eurostar have been in preparation in recent months as industry players seek to capitalise on the liberalisation of the rail network across Europe and the fact that, as noted in the teaser, the Channel Tunnel is operating at 45% of its capacity.

Spain’s Evolyn and Dutch start-up Heuro have all been exploring opening new services between England and France, although Project Bullet is the first to officially hit the market.

Other newly launched HSR services in Europe include Antin Infrastructure Partners-backed Proxima and Le Train, both in France.