Eurotunnel Sells TBM as French Board is AppointedAn Howden TBM used to build the Channel tunnel that links the south of England and France has been sold by online auction site eBay. The 580t machine went for GBP39,899 to the second highest bidder Tony Wilkinson, a scrap merchant from Kent. The price does not include delivery. Mr Wilkinson, who runs the firm Reclamet Recycling in Thanet, was outbid for the tunnel boring machine by a buyer using the name steddenm, with a bid of GBP39,999. But Eurotunnel said they had received an e-mail from steddenm saying he had discovered it would cost GBP250,000 to move the TBM from where it sits in Folkestone and the deal was off. The machine will be cut on site in 1.5 m x 60 cm pieces and it will end up in the steelworks to be recycled.The auction started on 2nd April at GBP1,000 but faced problems the following week when bids of up to GBP10 million were submitted. These were found to be hoaxes and eBay put a vetting system in place to eliminate anyone not pre-approved as a bidder. The auction closed on 12th April with a total number of 65 bids.Money raised from the sale is to be shared between three charities chosen by staff from Eurotunnel, the company that operates the underground rail link. The charities are Macmillan Nurses, Demelza House Hospice and Pilgrim's Hospice.The auction started while small French shareholders ousted Eurotunnel's chief executive Richard Shireffs and chairman Charles Mackay. Jacques Maillot, the ex-boss of French tour group Nouvelles Frontieres, became Eurotunnel's new chairman, and his new chief executive has been named as Jean-Louis Raymond. The French rebellion was sparked by growing anxiety that the previous board was not dealing effectively with the company's GBP6.4 billion debt burden, and anger over a share price worth just 10% of its value compared to 16 years ago. They also said that because of this massive debt, Eurotunnel could be seized by the banks.Eurotunnel has gone from one crisis to another ever since work began on the tunnel in 1987. Consultants told Margaret Thatcher, Prime minister at the time, that the project would cost about GBP5 billion. It ended up costing GBP12 billion, and opened in 1994 one year later than planned. Almost all the other forecasts contained in the original business plan have turned out wrong. It was thought 15 million, even 20 million passengers would pass through the tunnel each year, but the number is nearer 6 million. It was estimated that freight tonnage would exceed 5 million tonnes, but it is barely a quarter of that. The result has been that Eurotunnel has been a financial nightmare. Visit www.eurotunnel.com 17/04. Tony Wilkinson celebrating his purchase