Brookfield has pulled the sale of Teesport, crushing the mayor’s hopes of creating a major regeneration project.
Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, launched a bid to buy PD Ports from Brookfield Asset Management, with the backing of the Duke of Northumberland’s property company and the Pension Insurance Corporation.
However, the consortium was unwilling to pay the £2bn sought by Brookfield for the logistics empire, which includes Middlesbrough’s Teesport, Britain’s fifth largest port.
Brookfield said the process had “strengthened our conviction in the business”, adding that it had “made the decision to remain invested in PD Ports rather than sell the asset”.
The consortium’s interest lies in Teesport being surrounded by Teesworks, a 4,500-acre development zone granted low-tax freeport status in the March Budget.
