PD Ports owner calls off sale in blow for Tees Valley mayor

BROOKFIELD, the Canadian asset management giant, has abandoned an attempted sale of Teesside’s PD Ports after offers fell far short of the £2bn asking price.

Peel Ports, Australian fund manager Macquarie and a consortium led by Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen’s South Tees Development Corporation submitted second-round bids to investment bank RBC, which ran the auction for Brookfield.

However, the Canadian business has decided to hang on to PD Ports after the disappointing offers, sources close to the process said. Brookfield’s previous attempts to sell the ports operator were delayed by the pandemic last year.

It is understood that Mr Houchen’s consortium of the Duke of Northumberland’s property business, Legal & General, the Pension Insurance Corporation and Credit Suisse tabled a bid of about £1.2bn, with Peel Ports and Macquarie tied at about £1.1bn.

PD Ports’ main asset is Teesport, the UK’S fifth biggest port that employs 700 people and handled 28m tons of goods last year. The com- pany made operating profits of £52m last year, which sources said failed to support Brookfield’s price tag.

The sale process has been overshadowed by a legal battle between Mr Houchen’s South Tees Development Corporation and PD Ports over access to the site, which is surrounded by the STDC’S land with a single point of access.

The access issue poses a risk to potential buyers as work in the Teesside regen- eration zone gathers pace and Mr Houchen looks to take advantage of its new freeport status.

Mr Houchen, the “blue wall” mayor re-elected in May and a key ally of Boris Johnson, has pledged to create thousands of jobs through the overhaul of 4,500 acres of land on Tees- side including the former SSI steelworks now owned by the STDC.

A Brookfield spokesman said PD Ports had exceptional long-term growth prospects.