WH Davis: Britain’s last rail wagon manufacturer exports again after 20 years

WH Davis, the UK’s last remaining independent railway wagon manufacturer, repaired its first wooden wagon over a century ago when it was founded in 1908. Since then, the Shirebrook company has established itself as Britain’s leading specialist in wagon design, manufacture and innovation.

Despite that expertise, the majority of WH Davis’s business has come from domestic contracts. The business hadn’t exported for the past two decades – but that was about to change.

The challenge

In 2025, WH Davis signed a €44 million export deal to supply 150 freight wagons to Irish Rail.

Ireland’s rail freight fleet was 50 years old and approaching the end of its operational life. Irish Rail was upgrading its rail infrastructure and hoped to shift a significant portion of freight from roads to rail to cut emissions, enhance efficiency and reduce congestion.

It was an exciting opportunity for WH Davis but one that raised cashflow concerns. The business needed to provide cash collateral to secure the contract bond, a common provision in export contracts. This threatened to leave WH Davis without the working capital it needed to fund the production and delivery of the order itself.

The solution

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has a Bond Support Scheme, which provides guarantees to banks lending to British exporters. This scheme allows loan providers to release the cash needed to secure the bond.

In WH Davis’s case, Barclays bank agreed to provide a total of €28.7 million in bonding facilities over a three-year period. It was this support which enabled WH Davis to proceed with the Irish Rail contract.

The impact

The deal marked WH Davis’s return to exporting after 20 years. The contract is the first order under a 10-year agreement that could see the firm delivering up to 400 wagons to Irish Rail.

WH Davis expected to increase its workforce by 25% to meet demand, with another 20 highly skilled staff members employed at its manufacturing site in the East Midlands. The project also gave the company confidence to pursue further export opportunities across other international markets, opening new doors for British rail manufacturing.