Recent email that we sent to Better Ferry Campaign / Andrew Turner MP - rather frustrated by lack of response - do scroll to the end to read quote from American journalist re another of Wightlinks owners (Macquarie)s infrastructure investments: the Indiana Toll Road - v familiar story and rather concerning.... Email: Dear Better Ferry Campaign/ Andrew Turner MP, I am aware that Andrew Turners Parliamentary Question is coming up with regards the IoW ferry services. I submitted a couple of comments relating to Wightlink and their ultimate parent company, Macquarie Group to the BFC website, but I am guessing that for legal reasons, you may have felt it was not appropriate to post them[see below]. However, I would appreciate your thoughts on the wider issue regarding Macquaries ownership of Wightlink via its Infrastructure Fund vehicles. Their approach to infrastructure investments is the point that Andrew Turner should be highlighting - as the recent Panorama programme on Macqs ownership of Thames Water, and all the press out there on various of their investments is making clear (note, the current Indiana toll-road bankruptcy), these financial institutions are using legal loopholes to enable the acquisition of infrastructure assets which they then strip, leaving debt-laden vehicles to manage the deteriorating assets. I note in your feedback [Better Ferry Campaign] on conversations with Wightlink that they [Wightlink mgt] are unable to do anything constructive given their debt obligations - but these pale into insignificance when contrasted with the Aus$1.1bn that Macq Infrastructure Funds made in profit last year (the majority of their $1.3bn global profits). Surely, this is what any parliamentary review needs to focus on at a much wider level. We know that Macq management is well networked into govt.s around the world, which makes it difficult to tackle them, they are very astute political operators. But this should not be a reason to let such companies get away with it. There needs to be more information shared by your website on these wider issues - and we need more assurance from Andrew Turner that he is going to raise these pertinent issues that underpin the reality of Wightlinks current situation. Kind regards Comments to BFC 1. Macquaries Profits Australia’s globally focused investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) has seen its shares lift around 9% over the past year. This after it posted a net profit of $1.265 billion for FY14 and recently forecast that it expects net profit to be slightly up in FY15, with analysts’ estimates in the region of $1.35 billion. In the last fiscal year, Macquarie’s profit surged 49 percent to 1.27bn Australian dollars, with second-half profit edging higher by 52 percent from the first half. Macquarie Funds (One of these funds is Wightlinks holding group) was the biggest contributor to the group’s net income in the previous fiscal year, adding 1.1bn Australian dollars. Macquarie Funds Group has been bulking up organically and through acquisitions with more than $407 billion of assets under management as at 30 June 2014. Around two-thirds of that is in fixed income and infrastructure assets. Macquarie’s reputation as the leading infrastructure investor globally is helping to drive its annuity style income streams higher, with the funds management business leading the way. 2. Recent news re Macq Funds Macquarie’s 1.5 billion-euro MEIF fund is coming to the end of its life cycle, so the asset manager will either have to sell its holdings and return money to investors or seek their permission to roll them over into its second or third infrastructure funds. MEIF has holdings in Swedish high-speed rail service Arlanda Express, UK ferry company Wightlink Shipping and Brussels Airport amongst 11 in total. Points to note: Condor issues re Weymouth: holding Dorset CC to ransom over demands for further £10m investment Exit of Bristol Airport: raising significant capital into MacQ Fund which owns Wightlink New MD appointed in London Office: of note Indiana Toll Road Bankruptcy (Sep 14) - another MccQ Fund in the US m.southbendtribune/news/opinion/viewpoint/viewpoint-ok-so-when-can-indiana-get-its-toll-road/article_96dce438-46fc-11e4-806d-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm Quote from article: While tolls have continued to rise in rather spectacular fashion — with money then shipped offshore — the roads maintenance has suffered under foreign ownership. Complaints are legion about dirty and outmoded rest stops, lines at automated tolling centers and even the most basic operational functions — such as replacing the toll road overpass at Interstate 94 in Lake County, which has been out of service for a year — are simply being ignored.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 20:17:09 +0000
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