PD Ports is sold to Canadian group

PD Ports, the Middlesbrough-based UK ports and logistics business, has been bought by the Canadian group Brookfield Asset Management.

A spokesman for the ports group, which operates both Teesport and the group of ports on the Humber estuary, among other businesses, says the sale will not result in any redundancies. Day-to-day operations and planned investments are expected to continue as planned.

BBI has taken over PD Ports as part of a larger deal in which it is investing in the former parent company of the ports group, the Australian company Babcock and Brown Infrastructure (BBI).

PD Ports upset hauliers earlier this year when it planned to introduce a £5 gate charge to contribute towards infrastructure development. But PD abandoned the plan after it became clear that a significant number of hauliers would refuse to pay it.

Its PD Logistics division runs warehousing and distribution services at 13 locations throughout the North-East, Humberside and East Anglia, including Felixstowe.

One of the advantages of the BBI sale may be that PD Ports will be made financially stronger.

David Robinson, PD Ports' group chief executive, says the deal will "enable PD to move forward and focus on growing our business. As a result of the sale, PD Ports has a new financial structure, which will provide a stable platform to support our future growth."

Development plans for the ports include a new deep sea container terminal on the south side of the River Tees at Teesport. This is expected to cost over £300m and encourage more than 5,000 new jobs in the Tees Valley. PD Ports itself employs more than 1,140 and has an annual turnover in excess of £120m.