Sir Richard Branson plots end to Eurostar's 30-year monopoly with $900bn Virgin fundraise

Richard Branson, chairman and founder of Virgin Group Ltd., poses for a photograph on board a new Virgin Azuma high speed train, manufactured by Hitachi Ltd., at Kings Cross station, London, U.K., on Friday, March 18, 2016. Virgin Trains will revive plans to offer high-speed Internet access on Europes busiest rail route in a bid to beat the plane and persuade business people to travel outside peak hours. (Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

British Billionaire Sir Richard Branson is planning to challenge Eurostar’s long-running monopoly on rail travel between London and continental Europe as his Virgin Group spoke of plans for a nearly $1 billion fundraising round.

The Virgin Group told Fortune that the company was planning to raise up to £700 million ($900 million) to set up its own cross-channel rail service, which would pose the first rivalry to the Eurostar service since it launched its service in November 1994.