Associated British Ports has acquired Humber-based logistics operator Global Shipping Services, extending its cargo handling, warehousing and specialist project logistics capabilities across one of Britain’s largest industrial trading regions.
Global Shipping Services handles more than 1.5 million tonnes of cargo annually through operations at Hull, Goole and Immingham. Its services include stevedoring, storage, port agency and specialist handling for heavy and complex industrial shipments.
The transaction brings an established independent port services business into ABP’s national network of 19 ports. Financial terms have not been disclosed, while Global’s managing director, Peter Waud, will remain in his current position following the acquisition.
Established in 1989 through the combination of several Humber port service businesses, Global has developed specialist expertise in forest products, steel, bulk commodities and breakbulk freight. It also handles project cargo, including large industrial equipment requiring dedicated lifting, storage and transport arrangements.
The company operates across ports serving different sections of the freight market. Its facilities at Hull, Goole and Immingham support the movement of goods between vessels, storage areas and onward distribution services, providing customers with local cargo handling expertise alongside port infrastructure.
ABP intends to use the acquisition to broaden the range of logistics services available to customers. The addition of Global brings established operating teams and commercial relationships into a group that already manages substantial port facilities, quaysides and industrial land.
The enlarged offering will combine infrastructure ownership with more of the specialist services required to handle cargo moving through that infrastructure. For industrial customers, those services can involve coordinating vessel arrivals, allocating storage space, providing lifting equipment and arranging the movement of goods within a port.
Global’s experience with heavy-lift and project cargo gives ABP additional capabilities for handling equipment that cannot readily be transported as ordinary container freight. Such work is relevant to engineering, construction and industrial investment projects, particularly where large components need specialised quayside equipment.
Henrik L. Pedersen, chief executive of ABP, said the acquisition formed part of the port operator’s strategy to improve the services available to customers. The company plans to support Global’s existing business and develop opportunities for its expertise elsewhere in the national port network.
Andrew Dawes, ABP’s regional director for the Humber, linked the expansion of port services to continued investment in infrastructure. The group’s development programme includes the Immingham Eastern RoRo Terminal, an investment exceeding £200m intended to expand facilities for roll-on, roll-off freight.
The terminal development and acquisition address complementary parts of ABP’s operations. The new infrastructure will increase capacity for certain types of vessel traffic, while Global adds handling, warehousing and logistics expertise serving a wider range of cargoes.
The acquisition comes as a separate change to ABP’s ownership is under way. Two Canadian institutional investors have agreed to sell their combined 63.9% shareholding in the ports group to an infrastructure fund managed by IFM Investors. That shareholder transaction remains subject to completion conditions and is distinct from ABP’s purchase of Global.
Global’s customers have been advised to continue working with their usual contacts at the business and ABP. Its established operating arrangements will therefore remain in place initially, while the port group develops plans to extend its specialist services across the Humber and other locations within its national network.
You must be logged in to post a comment.