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Clydeport
http://www.clydeport.co.uk
Deal Type: Management and employee buyoutDate: December 1992
Status: Realised
Purchase Price: £20 million
Funds Raised: £26 million (42 million Euro)
Industry Sector: Transportation
Interested in contacting us about this deal?
Simon PoolerDirector
T: +44 161 233 6662
E: simon.pooler@ montagu.com
Detailed Information
The listing of Clydeport on the London Stock Exchange in 1994, at a
market capitalisation of £55 million (€88 million), brought to a
close a highly successful deal.
Clydeport’s main activities include the operation of port facilities and other marine services at Glasgow, Port Glasgow, Greenock and Ardossan. It is also the statutory harbour authority for the River Clyde and its estuary. In the upper reaches of the Clyde, the facilities encompass the operations at Yorkhill, King George V Dock, Meadowside, Merklands and Rothersay Dock.
At the time of the original deal Clydeport Holdings chairman John Mather said: “I am delighted that we succeeded; we led the initiative to transfer ownership of the Trust Ports to the private sector, recognising it was the best way to ensure continuing flexibility of operation.”
In the three years leading up to the deal, Mather and his team had been able to regenerate port use following the abolition of the Dock Labour Scheme. The potential benefits of efficient and well located port facilities are now being recognised more widely and Clydeport has the best geographical positioning relative to Scotland’s industrial heartland.
The deal was completed in 1992 and ended three years of uncertainty about the future of the port. Political considerations and legislation difficulties had originally blocked the MEBO bid. Our handling of the deal therefore had to be acceptable to management, to the employees and to the Government. Planning ahead with HSBC Private Equity, Clydeport’s Chairman, John Mather, answered a Government select committee’s misgivings about the status and competence of trust ports by announcing a commitment from the new operating company of £10 million (€16 million) to be invested in the port facilities in 1994.
The challenge in this deal, as in many privatisations, was to convince the authorities that a transfer to private ownership will be the best way to safeguard the asset and satisfy the varying requirements of public policy, local government and the interests of employees.
Since the early 1990’s we have led more than fifteen privatisations. We have built a specialist knowledge for such transactions which makes us the ideal partner for acquiring assets from the state sector.
Clydeport’s main activities include the operation of port facilities and other marine services at Glasgow, Port Glasgow, Greenock and Ardossan. It is also the statutory harbour authority for the River Clyde and its estuary. In the upper reaches of the Clyde, the facilities encompass the operations at Yorkhill, King George V Dock, Meadowside, Merklands and Rothersay Dock.
At the time of the original deal Clydeport Holdings chairman John Mather said: “I am delighted that we succeeded; we led the initiative to transfer ownership of the Trust Ports to the private sector, recognising it was the best way to ensure continuing flexibility of operation.”
In the three years leading up to the deal, Mather and his team had been able to regenerate port use following the abolition of the Dock Labour Scheme. The potential benefits of efficient and well located port facilities are now being recognised more widely and Clydeport has the best geographical positioning relative to Scotland’s industrial heartland.
The deal was completed in 1992 and ended three years of uncertainty about the future of the port. Political considerations and legislation difficulties had originally blocked the MEBO bid. Our handling of the deal therefore had to be acceptable to management, to the employees and to the Government. Planning ahead with HSBC Private Equity, Clydeport’s Chairman, John Mather, answered a Government select committee’s misgivings about the status and competence of trust ports by announcing a commitment from the new operating company of £10 million (€16 million) to be invested in the port facilities in 1994.
The challenge in this deal, as in many privatisations, was to convince the authorities that a transfer to private ownership will be the best way to safeguard the asset and satisfy the varying requirements of public policy, local government and the interests of employees.
Since the early 1990’s we have led more than fifteen privatisations. We have built a specialist knowledge for such transactions which makes us the ideal partner for acquiring assets from the state sector.