Deck

Getlink SE · GET · Euronext Paris

Getlink operates the Channel Tunnel — the only fixed land link between Britain and continental Europe — under an Anglo-French treaty concession running through 2086, earning rail tolls, vehicle-shuttle fares, and electricity-interconnector fees.

€18.52
Price (8 May 2026)
€10.2B
Market cap
€1.60B
Revenue (FY25)
2086
Concession expiry — 60 yrs left
Range-bound around €13–17 from 2021 through 2024; broke out toward €18–20 in early 2026 as Eiffage and Mundys built blocks toward the AMF 30% line.
2 · The tension

The 32× P/E only clears if a bid lands — and the largest bidder just stopped 60 bps short of forcing one.

  • Eiffage 29.40% capital / 29.9% votes; Mundys 19% / 24.8% votes (25% / 29.9% if Mundys exercises the second swap tranche). Combined fully exercised: ~54% capital and ~59% votes after Eiffage's March 2026 1.74% market block (€166.7M, avg €17.40, max €17.70/share) and Mundys' 31 March 2026 first swap tranche. Both sit under the AMF 30% mandatory-tender line.
  • 15.9× EV/EBITDA versus AENA's 10.6×. Premium to the cleanest single-asset concession comp is the takeout option, not yield. A forced bid at 16–18× infra-bidder math implies €22–24; absent a bid, the multiple can compress toward AENA's €11–12 band.
  • Years of accumulation, zero offer. Both holders publicly state long-term strategic intent and already extract governance through board representation. No AMF rule forces them to cross 30%.
The 60 bps between Eiffage's 29.40% capital stake and a mandatory tender is the entire valuation argument.
3 · Earnings quality

FY25 looked like +4% EBITDA. Strip the insurance line and underlying is flat.

€859M
Reported FY25 EBITDA +4% YoY (vs 2024 restated)
€822M
Ex-insurance underlying flat YoY in EUR
€820–860M
FY26 guide range mid €840M
€871M
Street FY26 EBITDA 3–6% above guide

FY25 EBITDA absorbed €55M of ElecLink suspension-related insurance compensation — only €5M cash in 2025, the rest receivable — and ElecLink segment EBITDA at €158M sits well above plausible normalised levels (FY25 included €80M profit-sharing provision). Q1 2026 ElecLink revenue +112% on a depressed base (suspension Jan 1–Feb 5 2025) flatters the read; underlying Q1 ElecLink growth was +21%. FY26 guide implies broadly flat ex-insurance. H1 results on 23 July are the first clean print.

4 · What is actually being bought

A 60-year treaty monopoly with a hidden growth toll layer inside it.

  • Treaty concession through 2086. The 1986 Treaty of Canterbury grants exclusive Channel Tunnel rights for 60 more years; replacement cost €20B+, build time 15+ years, no rival fixed-link project tabled in 40 years. Eurotunnel segment EBITDA margin 55.7% — AENA-band economics, not VINCI-band.
  • Railway Network toll: €411M, +4% YoY, near-100% incremental margin. Inflation-indexed formula in force to 2052. Eurostar passengers 11.8M FY25 (+5% YoY, all-time high); Open Access entrants (Virgin/Evolyn, FS Italiane) targeting launches late this decade with zero Tunnel capex. Market values this inside the segment blend, not separately.
  • The weak link — Truck Shuttle. Short Straits share 42.2% → 35.4% from FY22 to FY25 as ferries permanently captured ~10% of unaccompanied trailer share post-Brexit. Decline velocity slowed to 30 bps/yr in FY24–FY25; Q1 2026 share 35.8% vs 36.4% Q1 2025 — stabilising in the mid-30s, or one new ferry vessel from re-accelerating.
5 · The next 90 days

Four dated events, one undated trigger that resolves the whole debate.

  • 5 Jun — May traffic. April printed trucks −2%, passenger cars −10% YoY — the first negative tape since the breakout. May tests whether April was Easter timing or structural drift ahead of the EU EES phased rollout at Eurotunnel sites April–September.
  • 23 Jul — H1 2026 results. First clean ex-insurance run-rate. €410M+ EBITDA with the residual €50M ElecLink insurance collected as cash reopens the consensus-upgrade path; sub-€370M validates the bear's normalised-multiple call.
  • Any day — Eiffage threshold filing. Any further block taking Eiffage above 30% capital, or an AMF concert-party finding on Eiffage + Mundys, triggers a mandatory tender at a control premium and resolves the standoff.
Only two catalysts resolve the debate — the threshold filing and the H1 print. Everything else moves the chart, not the underwriting.
6 · Bull & Bear

Lean long, wait for confirmation — moat is the underwriting; multiple needs either a bid or a clean print.

  • For. Treaty monopoly through 2086, 55.7% Eurotunnel segment margin, S&P upgraded Eurotunnel debt to BBB+ and Getlink HoldCo to BB+ (Fitch also BB+), FCF funded ongoing deleveraging and a +38% dividend lift to €0.80 (vs €0.58 prior).
  • For. Eiffage and Mundys jointly hold ~48% capital today (~54% if Mundys exercises second tranche); Eiffage already crossed 25% in Oct 2025 and added 1.74% in March 2026 (max €17.70/sh) — sits 60 bps from a forced tender.
  • Against. Ex-insurance EBITDA flat; ElecLink reported €158M includes €55M insurance and was struck after €80M profit-sharing provision; new FR-GB interconnectors commission 2027–2030 into a normalising spread.
  • Against. 15.9× EV/EBITDA versus AENA's 10.6× = 3–4 turns of multiple at risk if the bid never lands; Truck Shuttle share has bled ~680 bps from FY22 to FY25 and is only tentatively stabilising.
My view — bull case is structurally heavier on the moat; an H1 print above €410M ex-insurance shifts this from 'wait' to 'own'.

Watchlist to re-rate: H1 2026 EBITDA ex-insurance on 23 July; Truck Shuttle share across May–July monthly traffic prints; any AMF threshold filing pushing Eiffage above 30% capital.