Dutch state railway company NS is aware it may have to loan more money to its British subsidiary Abellio to bail it out of trouble, finance minister Wopke Hoekstra has confirmed to MPs.

Hoekstra made the comment in answer to MPs’ questions about an earlier loan made to Abellio and news that the British unit is trying to renegotiate a concession contract with the British government.

Hoekstra also confirmed the company loaned €54m to Abellio to pay extra costs on its East Anglia network, which it runs together with Japanese firm Mitsui.

DutchNews.nl reported earlier this year that Abellio may have to loan millions of euros to Britain’s trade ministry because of a disputed clause in a rail franchise agreement.

‘The size of [the new loan] is partly dependent on the result of those talks,’ Hoekstra said. The minister stressed the bail out is a loan and that it will be repaid with 8% interest.

The agreement for the East Anglia franchise includes a risk sharing measure known as the Central London Employment (CLE) mechanism. This was intended to provide protection for the operator and Britain’s department of trade (DfT) against revenue fluctuations if more people started using the service because the London economy was booming.

However, the way the CLE has been calculated means Abellio is facing a far higher bill than expected. ‘It is now widely accepted that CLE is a flawed mechanism that does not deliver on the intended aims,’ Abellio told DutchNews.nl in a statement at the time.

Abellio won the contract to run the Greater Anglia service in October 2016 after beating off stiff domestic competition. The franchise runs until 2025.