Eurotunnel files for bankruptcy protection

The Eurotunnel company slipped closer to insolvency yesterday after the Channel Tunnel operator formally applied for bankruptcy protection under French law, having failed to reach an agreement with creditors to restructure its £6.2bn of debts.

Jacques Gounon, the chairman of Eurotunnel, claimed the talks had broken down because of the "unreasonable demands" made by the company's biggest bondholder Deutsche Bank, and said unless a deal was agreed by September the Channel Tunnel operator would go bust after Christmas.

In an outspoken attack, M. Gounon accused the bank of failing to take into account the interests of Eurotunnel's 800,000 shareholders and 2,300 employees, adding: "Deutsche Bank is a well-known international company and I think there will be an image problem with it if they continue with the line they are taking."

- INDEPENDENT