A Goldman Sachs sign is displayed inside the company's post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs GS.N and the Wellcome Trust [WELLTF.UL] charity have made a joint bid to buy the commercial property portfolio of Britain's Network Rail [NETRAH.UL], a spokeswoman for the Wellcome Trust said.

Sky News reported on Wednesday that the U.S. investment bank and the British medical charity have tabled a 1.2 billion pound ($1.7 billion) bid for about 5,500 premises owned by National Rail, the British state-backed entity which is independently run.

Goldman Sachs and Wellcome Trust declined to confirm details of the bid.

“Wellcome Trust and Goldman Sachs have submitted a non-binding indicative offer for the commercial estate of Network Rail,” a spokeswoman for Wellcome Trust said in an emailed statement.

A spokesman from Goldman Sachs confirmed the news but declined to comment further.

($1 = 0.7112 pounds)