LONDON Underground Managing Director Tim O'Toole confirmed on November 6 that Transport for London has submitted the only bid to acquire the failed PPP infrastructure concessionaire Metronet.

Metronet BCV and SSL had been put into administration by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone on July 18 (RG 8.07 p461). Administrator Alan Bloom from Ernst & Young said that as a result of the TfL bid he would not take any 'active steps' to market the Metronet companies.

O'Toole hoped that the transfer to TfL control would be completed 'in early 2008', given that the current funding arrangements run out on January 18.

The staff and assets of the two companies will be transferred to two TfL nominee companies, and 'be managed on a stand-alone basis while the long term structure is agreed with the Mayor and the government'.

On October 31 LU and Metronet informed the PPP Arbiter that they were withdrawing the application for an Extraordinary Review into the apportionment of liability for the £1bn of project cost over-runs which triggered the financial crisis at Metronet.