Britain’s railway arches are getting hollowed out

Railway arches are functional. If you want to keep a railway bridge horizontal, you’re going to need arches. Once, Network Rail owned these bits that kept the trains in the sky. But these days, they have a price on them, as retail space. There are currently around 5,200 businesses located in railway arches, and in 2018, Network Rail was convinced to part with the lot for £1.5 billion. 

Now, these arches are worth at least £2 billion. This is the price that their new owners, the private equity group Blackstone, are paying. Since 2018, Blackstone owned them in collaboration with Telereal Trillium. This month, Blackstone bought out Telereal, establishing a new market value of £2 billion. 

Blackstone are legendary for their knack to buy assets well, and work them hard. In England, they control jewels like 125 London Wall, Terry Farrell’s postmodern masterpiece. And dogs, like the plate glass shack of Arundel Great Court on the Strand.