Brittany Ferries has completed the purchase of Channel Islands-based Condor Ferries after the deal was given approval by competition watchdogs.
The deal, announced in 2019, had been subject to scrutiny by competition authorities. But following their green light at the end of January 2020, and work to complete the transition in February, the sale has now been finalised.
The Plymouth-based, French-owned, freight and passenger company, which runs services between the UK and Europe, linked with the Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (ESIF) to snaffle the smaller Condor Ferries for an undisclosed sum.
The consortium bought Condor Ferries from Australian company Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA). Macquarie had acquired Condor Ferries in 2008 for an undisclosed sum, thought to be about £260million.
Brittany Ferries, which had run services to the Channel Islands in the past, holds a minority stake in Condor, which also operates freight and passenger ferry services, each year carrying about one million passengers, 200,000 passenger vehicles, and more than 900,000 freight lane meters between Guernsey, Jersey, the UK, and the Port of St Malo, in France.
“This is excellent news for Brittany Ferries, our new partners and for Condor Ferries,” said Christophe Mathieu, chief executive of Brittany Ferries. “We are committed to working closely in the months and years to come to ensure the best level of service to customers and support to our friends and colleagues in the Channel Islands. This will be business as usual for Condor, but within a new ownership structure.”
Brittany Ferries began operations in 1973. Today its fleet includes 12 ships connecting France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain.
It operates from three ports in the UK: Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Poole. It carries about 2.5million passengers every year, as well as 210,000 freight units.
ESIF is a new open-ended, evergreen fund that invests in European mid-market equity assets, managed by leading global asset management group Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
