FORTH PORTS LIMITED

1 PRINCE OF WALES DOCK, LEITH, EDINBURGH.  EH6 7DX

Telephone 0131 555 8700     Facsimile 0131 555 4464 
 
 
 
 

FORTH PORTS ACQUIRES FULL OWNERSHIP OF TILBURY CONTAINER TERMINAL 

Forth Ports Limited (“Forth Ports”), announces today (25^th January 2012), that Otter Ports Holdings Ltd, owner of Forth Ports, has acquired from DP World Limited (“DP World”) and Associated British Ports Ltd (“AB Ports”) the 67% ownership of Tilbury Container Services Ltd (“TCS”) not already owned by Forth Ports in a cash transaction.   

Forth Ports has been a one third shareholder in TCS since 1998 along with partners DP World and AB Ports. TCS is located on the River Thames within the Port of Tilbury, which is wholly owned by Forth Ports and is a key shipping and distribution location with unrivalled access to London and the South East of England.  

TCS handled c.314,000 containers in 2011, up 2.4% from 2010 volumes.  It has secured a significant trading position with the North / South reefer trades, primarily South America and South Africa and has strong links with a number of other deep sea trades.  The Port of Tilbury also runs a short sea business which handled c.126,000 containers in 2011, up 7.6% from 2010 volumes.  The short sea business provides regular links to Continental Europe and to other UK coastal feeder locations.   

Commenting on the acquisition, Charles Hammond, Chief Executive of Forth Ports, said:  

“This is an important acquisition and a major step forward in our plans to grow and develop our ports business.  We believe that stronger links between our container and distribution customers will provide benefits in the supply chain for them and further underpins our portcentric strategy.   

“With 100% ownership of TCS we plan to combine our existing Short Sea container terminal with TCS to create a new container business branded ‘London Container Terminal’.  The combined terminal will handle close to half a million containers and makes us the third largest single container operation in the UK and one of the few UK ports servicing both deep sea and short sea customers.   

“This acquisition further underlines Tilbury’s role as a distribution and transhipment hub for London.” 
 
 

Registered Office:  1 Prince of Wales Dock, Edinburgh.  EH6 7DX

Registered in Scotland No. 134741

For media information please contact: 

Forth Ports Limited:

Callum Spreng – 07803 970103 / Debbie Johnston – 07532 183811

Office - 0141 229 0482 

Notes to Editors: 

Forth Ports and The Port of Tilbury (www.forthports.co.uk) 

The Port of Tilbury is a significant part of the Forth Ports Group and also London’s major port providing fast, modern distribution services for the benefit of the South East of England. 

Tilbury’s strategic position on the Thames provides a major geographical advantage for transport to and out of London and the South-East making its location the natural point for distribution. Serving the UK’s market for forest products, general cargo, vehicles, grain and other bulks, the port offers customers excellent transport links to and from the capital and across the South East. 

The Port is a significant distribution centre, covering over 850 acres and is well positioned to access the M25 orbital motorway and the rest of the UK's national motorway network. In addition, there are direct rail connections within the Port, with access to the whole of the UK. 

The Port offers:

• 34 operational Berths

• Over 16 independent working terminals

• Over 7.5 kilometres of quay

• Over 500,000 square metres of warehouse space

• Over 7 kms of road within port estate with excellent transport access

• London’s only Cruise Ship Terminal. 

The Port is now recognised as Britain’s Greenest Port and has recently been nominated for a number of awards for the outstanding environmental initiatives which have been delivered over the past few years. 

Forth Ports operates seven further ports - Dundee on the River Tay and six ports on the Firth of Forth - Leith, Grangemouth, Kirkcaldy, Methil, Burntisland and Rosyth. The Group also has significant property interests as well as a renewable energy division which is looking to gain planning approval for onshore wind installations and biomass facilities at four of its ports in Scotland.