The Oxford-based contractor made a £190m loss last year
Spanish transport giant Ferrovial is looking to sell Amey as a problem highways contract with Birmingham council continues to hinder the contractor’s profits.
According to Sunday newspaper reports, Ferrovial has appointed Goldman Sachs to investigate selling its global services business, which includes Oxford-based Amey.
Back in 2009 Amey scooped a £2.7bn PFI contract with Birmingham City Council to service a 2,500km road network.
But a lengthy legal wrangle over the scope of the contract, ultimately won by Birmingham council, saw Amey take £208m hit to their balance sheet. Amey made a net loss of £190m last year.
In the first quarter of Ferrovial’s financial year the company recorded a £142m loss, which it largely blamed on Amey’s problem job.
In 2018 Amey has also snapped up a plethora of public-sector contracts formerly held by Carillion, including with the Ministry of Defence and Network Rail.
Amey is one of three construction and services companies being monitored by a ‘crown representative’ at the Cabinet Office following the collapse of Carillion.
Kier, another of the companies, asked investors for £264m on Friday in response to its £390m average net debt.
The final company, Interserve, saw its share price drop to a 34-year low on Friday as it continues to battle a handful of problem jobs and a £650m net debt pile.
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