Eurotunnel chairman Jacques Gounon has branded Deutsche Bank "unreasonable" and said the Channel Tunnel operator will be forced to seek bankruptcy protection after intense eleventh hour talks over its €9bn ($11.5bn) financial restructuring failed to break a deadlock last night.

Eurotunnel met investors for a second day of summit talks in Paris yesterday aimed at finding a solution to the stand-off between the company and some of its subordinated creditors, led by Deutsche Bank and a group called Arco, over the terms of the debt restructuring.