Skip to main content

Australian investment firm buys UK’s M6 toll road

Australian investment firm IFM, which co-owns Manchester Airport and Anglian Water, has bought the UK’s M6 toll road, reports the BBC.
June 16, 2017 Read time: 1 min

Australian investment firm IFM, which co-owns Manchester Airport and Anglian Water, has bought the UK’s M6 toll road, reports the BBC.

The 27-mile motorway opened in December 2003 to ease congestion on the M6 and roads around north Birmingham, but has always lost money, with drivers saying it is too expensive to use regularly.

It was originally owned by Australian bank Macquarie before it was bought by a group of 27 banks in December 2013. It was put up for sale for nearly £2 billion last year.

Sources at IFM are said to have confirmed the sale but the investment group is yet to make any public comment.

Related Content

  • January 18, 2023
    Tolling Matters: Getting the balance right
    The concept of road usage charging (RUC) is slowly coming to the fore. But it isn’t just a question of good fiscal sense – it’s about promoting equity and ensuring sustainability too, says Scott Jacobs of Emovis
  • August 25, 2016
    Price comparison website calls for reduction of traffic lights on UK roads
    Price-comparison website Confused.com is calling for a re-think on traffic lights in the UK in order to reduce congestion. This is supported by an Institute of Economic Affairs report which puts the cost of delays caused by traffic controls at US$21 billion (£16 billion) a year. It also states that four in five (80%) traffic lights in the UK could be removed to boost the economy and road safety. New research by Confused.com reveals that the average UK driver spends 48.5 hours a year stationary at traffic
  • July 11, 2023
    Congestion charge: Big Changes in the Big Apple
    New York City is falling in line with other major global cities in charging drivers for using its streets, writes Adam Hill: the Central Business District Tolling Program is on its way. Probably
  • May 20, 2016
    UK ‘headed for gridlock’ as new record car use revealed
    UK Road safety charity Brake is concerned by worrying new figures showing car traffic reached a new peak in 2015, with overall traffic increasing by almost 19 per cent since 1995. According to UK government statistics, the number of vehicle miles travelled grew by 1.1 per cent in 2015, to 247.7 billion, slightly higher than the previous peak in 2007. Van traffic has continued to grow more quickly than any other vehicle type, rising 4.2 per cent from 2014 levels. Lorry traffic saw the largest year-on-year