At the turn of the year Ferrovial has completed one of the major operations to transform its surroundings. It has just closed the sale of British company Amey to two investment funds for £400m (€455m), thus completing the divestment of its services investment and reducing its exposure to the UK, where it still owns 25% of the country’s largest airport, Heathrow.
Selling Amey is part of the relief for Ferrovial, which has had to confront several British authorities over reviewing its service contracts. The biggest clash occurred with the city of Birmingham, where an agreement was signed to preserve the infrastructure. The dispute was ended with an agreement under which Amy was paid nearly €250 million.
Once approved by the authorities, Amey is sold to a company controlled by investment fund One Equity Partners, which is buying out another similar firm, Buckthorn Partners.
It takes a capital gain of 55 million that can be calculated in the 2023 accounts
Deducting the debt, Ferrovial will enter 264 million pounds (301 million euros) net, of which 112 million pounds are in cash and 151 million, through a loan granted to buyers with an interest of 6% per annum.
The Spanish company will receive a capital gain of 55 million euros which it will be able to account for in its accounts this year. It will also retain a small portion of Amey’s business, corresponding to waste handling, which it will consolidate into its energy and mobility infrastructure division. 557 workers work in this activity.
The group’s strategic transformation is looking for opportunities in franchises
As part of its Horizon 24 strategic plan, Ferrovial has decided to conduct a strategic review of all of its businesses and put its legacy services division up for sale. This activity does not offer margins or projections for concessions or infrastructure for mobility, energy, or water. The company aims to increase its total operating profit at an annual rate of 11% and has decided to focus on the most profitable part of the business.
The group has already sold its environmental services and infrastructure businesses in Spain and Portugal, as well as Broadspectrum, which operates in Australia and New Zealand. It also disposed of contracts for urban cleaning and oil and gas businesses in North America.
In the United Kingdom, Heathrow Airport, which before the pandemic had become the largest airport in Europe. In the summer, it was learned that the Spanish group had received ways to investigate its interest in selling its 25% stake in the airport, but decided to reject the offer after analyzing it.
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