Spanish group points finger at budget cuts levelled at UK local councils for write-down
Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial has taken a 鈧�774m (拢663m) valuation hit on Amey, its UK services arm, after effectively classifying its entire services operation as being up for sale.
Last December it was reported that Ferrovial had appointed Goldman Sachs to hunt for a buyer for its global services business, which includes Amey.
Downgrading the book value of Amey by 87% to 鈧�103m (拢88m) Ferrovial said it had been adversely affected by the downturn in UK services鈥� activity in recent years, although it was business as usual at the Oxfordshire-based firm.
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Amey鈥檚 parent said cuts to local government budgets had caused 鈥渘umerous uncertainties鈥�, while there had been a series of contractual disputes between service providers and their clients.
A decade ago Amey signed a 拢2.7bn deal with Birmingham City Council to service a 2,500km road network, but that contract got bogged down in a legal row which was eventually won by the local authority and led to the firm taking a 拢208m hit.
Ferrovial, which operates in Spain, Australia, Chile, the US, Canada and Poland, said it was still committed to the UK, as 鈥渃rystallised in its presence in all its business lines鈥�.
Last summer Ferrovial announced it was switching the base for its international holding company from Oxford to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, because of uncertainty around Brexit.
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