Branson denies Eurotunnel approach

A ROW over who should run Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel is collapsing into farce.

Rebel shareholders trying to oust the board say they have approached Sir Richard Branson and asked him to run the company. But a bemused Virgin said: 'Richard has never heard of them. We've had no correspondence.'

It is the latest setback for dissidents, led by 2007 French presidential hopeful and journalist Nicolas Miguet, angry at the slump in Eurotunnel's share price since its 1987 float.

They delivered sealed boxes of votes on Friday, demanding a general meeting. Eurotunnel refused to open the boxes, and then argued that the votes were 'inaccessible'.

Miguet, who has his own website and campaigns against tax, has plagued Eurotunnel. He was one of a group of minority shareholders who failed to oust the board in May.

Eurotunnel hit back by issuing a public statement saying Miguet had a criminal conviction for 'the unlawful exercise of directorship of a company' and had been barred for five years as a director. It slammed his campaign as 'unrealistic and fanciful'.

The company, weighed down with £8.8bn debt, made £80m first half operating profits, but that fell a long way short of its £159m interest bill. Fierce competition from ferries and low-cost airlines has put pressure on prices.

The shares, floated at 350p, fell 3 1/2p to 57 1/4p. Eurotunnel has threatened to bring lawsuits against those driving its price down by short selling.