LNER: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show
London North Eastern Railway Limited's person with significant control on the Companies House register is Dft Olr Holdings Limited. In the year to March 2026 London North Eastern Railway Limited reported turnover of £1,068m.
- Registered name
- LONDON NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY LIMITED
- Company number
- 04659712
- Status
- Active
- Incorporated
- 7 February 2003
- Registered office area
- York
- Industry code on the register
- 49100: Land transport and transport via pipelines
- Accounts
- Single company accounts, this company only
- Accounts type
- Full accounts
- Latest accounts
- Year to March 2026, filed 4 September 2026
What does LNER do?
LNER, London North Eastern Railway, is the train operator running long-distance intercity services on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland, including Edinburgh. It has been publicly owned since 2018, running the route under a contract with the Department for Transport, which takes fare income and funds the service. Its fleet is built around Azuma trains, offering standard and first class travel with onboard catering.
In brief: intercity rail · East Coast Main Line · London to Edinburgh · publicly owned
Source: Spark Intel editorial, checked 24 September 2026. Official website: lner.co.uk.
Who owns LNER?
The Companies House register records Dft Olr Holdings Limited as the person with significant control of London North Eastern Railway Limited, company number 04659712. Dft Olr Holdings Limited is itself company number 07141122.
That places London North Eastern Railway Limited inside a larger group. The accounts on this page are the company's own, not the wider group's.
The full ownership record is on the Companies House register. Control is given in the bands the register uses, not as exact shareholdings.
Who runs LNER?
The Companies House register lists 9 current officers for London North Eastern Railway Limited.
All 9 current officers
| Officer | Appointed |
|---|---|
| Richard Charles Vyvyan Harrison | 24 June 2018 |
| David Andrew Horne | 20 July 2018 |
| James Peter Edward Downey | 1 July 2020 |
| James Peter Edward Downey | 1 July 2020 |
| Linda Wain | 4 October 2022 |
| David Flesher | 4 October 2022 |
| Alexander John Hynes | 24 December 2025 |
| Collette Louise Lugar-Mawson | 1 May 2026 |
| Kate Suzanne Bennett | 1 May 2026 |
Every current officer, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
What did LNER file?
London North Eastern Railway Limited reported turnover of £1,068m in the year to March 2026. That was up 5.4% on £1,013m the year before.
It reported 3,890 employees. The year before it reported 3,337.
It filed a pre-tax profit of £8m for the year, against a pre-tax profit of £7m the year before.
Staff costs came to £211m. That is an average of £54,000 a head. It ended the year with £104m at the bank and net assets of £25m. It paid dividends of £5m.
| Measure | Mar 2026 | Mar 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £1,068m | £1,013m |
| Pre-tax profit | £8m (filed) | £7m (filed) |
| Employees | 3,890 | 3,337 |
| Staff costs | £211m | £192m |
| Average staff cost per head | £54,000 | £58,000 |
| Bank and cash | £104m | £126m |
| Net assets | £25m | £6m |
| Dividends paid | £5m | £20m |
| Interest paid | £15m | |
| Interest received | £3m | |
| Directors' pay | £1.0m |
Read the accounts to March 2026 on Companies House, where every set of accounts the company has filed can be downloaded as a PDF.
LNER files as London North Eastern Railway Limited, whose person with significant control is Dft Olr Holdings Limited, with turnover of £1,068m in its latest filed year.
Questions about LNER
What does LNER do?
LNER, London North Eastern Railway, is the train operator running long-distance intercity services on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland, including Edinburgh. It has been publicly owned since 2018, running the route under a contract with the Department for Transport, which takes fare income and funds the service. Its fleet is built around Azuma trains, offering standard and first class travel with onboard catering.
Who owns LNER?
The Companies House register records Dft Olr Holdings Limited as the person with significant control of London North Eastern Railway Limited.
How much does LNER make?
London North Eastern Railway Limited reported turnover of £1,068m in the year to March 2026. It filed a pre-tax profit of £8m.
How many people work at LNER?
London North Eastern Railway Limited reported 3,890 employees in the year to March 2026.
Who runs LNER?
The Companies House register lists 9 current officers for London North Eastern Railway Limited. The full list, with appointment dates, is on the Companies House register.
- Figures come from London North Eastern Railway Limited's filings at Companies House, company number 04659712, for the period shown at the top of the page.
- These are single company accounts: they cover this company alone, not any wider group.
- Pre-tax profit is the figure the company filed, for both years.
- A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d. A zero in the filing is treated as not disclosed, never as nil.
- Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, from £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, from £2m to the nearest million.
- Ownership is shown in the control bands the register of people with significant control uses, not as exact shareholdings.
- Officers' names and appointment dates come from the Companies House register. Job titles come from the company's own website. The description of what the company does comes from its website, or is marked Spark Intel editorial where it is written from stable, checked facts, with the date either way.
Spark Intel, “LNER: who owns it, who runs it and what the accounts show”, updated 28 September 2026. https://www.spark-intel.co.uk/companies/lner/. Figures from Companies House filings for LONDON NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY LIMITED (04659712).
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