Deal marks end of four year search for buyer

Spanish construction giant Ferrovial has sold Amey to a private equity consortium for 拢400m.

Today鈥檚 news marks the end of a sales process which began four years ago when Ferrovial, which bought the firm in April 2003 to get a foothold in UK PPP infrastructure work, first put Amey on the block.

Its new owner will be Buckthorn Partners, which specialises in snapping up energy services businesses, and New York-based One Equity Partners.

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Amey has been part of Ferrovial for nearly 20 years

Buckthorn鈥檚 chairman is a former sports minister in the Thatcher government, Colin Moynihan, who also won a silver medal in rowing at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, and partners include former chancellor Philip Hammond who stepped down as an MP at the 2019 general election.

Amey鈥檚 services include infrastructure maintenance, consulting and facility management. The deal excludes Amey鈥檚 waste treatment business, which will remain with Ferrovial.

The business being sold employs around 11,000 people and had a revenue of 拢1.4bn last year and earnings of 拢43m.

Nicholas Gee, founding partner at Buckthorn, said 鈥淎mey is at the heart of developing innovative routes to delivering the UK鈥檚 infrastructure needs. Amey鈥檚 consulting and engineering services are essential to expedite the energy transition by improving the performance of transport and building infrastructure.鈥

The deal, which needs to be rubber-stamped by regulators, is due to be wrapped up by the end of the year.

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