Heathrow shareholder Ferrovial freezes investment in UK over Brexit uncertainty
Thursday, April 6, 2017 @ 9:48 PM
SPANISH transport infrastructure giant Ferrovial has decided not to invest any further in Healthrow Airport due to Brexit.
Britain offers 'no opportunities', says chair Rafael del Pino, meaning any planned future mergers and acquisitions are now off.
“No-one knows, not even the United Kingdom, how the process and consequences of Brexit will pan out,” says Del Pino, who adds that Ferrovial's approach to business in Britain will now be cautious and 'prudent'.
He has good reason to fear uncertainty in the UK: as well as Heathrow, Ferrovial is a major shareholder in the airports of Aberdeen and Glasgow in Scotland and Southampton on the south coast, owning 50% of the capital in each, as well as significant construction and services activity in Scotland and England.
These figures translate to nearly a third of the firm's income derived from Britain and the country being among the Spanish firm's biggest markets.
This said, Del Pino speculates whether Brexit may bring the unexpectedly positive upturn of the British government's decision on the proposed third runway.
For decades now, talks on how to extend Heathrow airport – the largest of the London terminals and the UK's main long-haul departure and connecting point – have failed to bear fruit, but in two months' time, a public opinion poll on whether or not to include a third runway will close and be ready for Parliament to vote on it.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com