Clydeport

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 investment for Montagu, following its acquisition of the business as part of the UK government's privatisation initiatives in the early 1990s.

Clydeport's main activities included the operation of port facilities and other marine services at Glasgow, Port Glasgow, Greenock and Ardossan. It was also the statutory harbour authority for the River Clyde and its estuary. In the upper reaches of the Clyde, the facilities encompassed 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 came to be recognised more widely and Clydeport had 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 Management and Employee Buyout bid. Our handling of the deal therefore had to be acceptable to management, to the employees and to the Government. Planning ahead with Montagu, 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 would 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 Montagu has 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.