Heathrow-owner eyes £500m Enterprise

FERROVIAL, the owner of Heathrow airport, is in advanced talks to buy Enterprise, one the of the UK’s largest council services outsourcing companies, in a deal estimated to be worth £500 million.

The Madrid-based infrastructure giant wants to buy Enterprise and merge the business with Amey, its British engineering subsidiary.

Its owner, the embattled private equity company 3i, declined to comment and no-one at Ferrovial could be reached immediately for comment last night.

Enterprise is the biggest provider of services such as street cleaning and waste collection to councils and utilities. It has more than 3,000 staff.

The outsourcer was bought for £700m in 2007, making it 3i’s biggest investment in the UK. But the acquisition turned sour as the private equity company struggled to cope with the company’s huge debt burden.

Last year the City of Edinburgh council voted against handing a £210m contract for its waste and cleaning services to Lancashire-based Enterprise.