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Amey plc

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Amey plc
Company typePublic
IndustrySupport services
Founded1921
HeadquartersOxford, England
Key people
Andy Milner, (CEO)
Number of employees
21,000
ParentFerrovial
Websitewww.amey.co.uk

Amey plc, previously known as Amey Ltd and Amey Roadstone Construction, is a United Kingdom based infrastructure support service provider. It was once listed on the London Stock Exchange, but since 2003, it has been a subsidiary of Spanish company Ferrovial. The head office for the company is in the Sherard Building in Oxford.[1]

History

Amey was founded in the 1921 by William Charles Amey, as an Oxfordshire based quarry operator. The company grew during World War I with its involvement in the construction of Royal Air Force bases. In 1959, the company was responsible for the supply of gravel for the construction of the M1 motorway, between London and Birmingham. In the same year, it became a public company.[2]

Their operations have not been without controversy, most recently invoking complaints from clients in Birmingham [3] and also the ongoing dispute with residents in Sheffield [4] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1963. Ronald William Amey took over the business from his father, and agreed the sale of the company in 1972.[5] The family had a close association with Abingdon School, where the Amey Theatre is named after them.[6]

Amey balast/track tamper train at Banbury station

Between 1972 and 1989, the company was owned by Consolidated Gold Fields, and used the names Amey Roadstone and ARC. In 1974, they bought Stephen Toulson & Sons. In 1989, Hanson purchased the company for a short period before it went into private ownership until 1995, when it was refloated on the London Stock Exchange. In April 2003, it was acquired by Ferrovial, but continues to trade under the Amey name.[2][7]

From 2003 to May 2010, the company jointly owned (with Bechtel) Tube Lines, the consortium responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the infrastructure, including track, trains, signals, civil work and stations, on three London Underground lines.[7] Following a funding shortfall at the business, it was bought from Amey and Bechtel by Transport for London.[8]

In February 2006, Amey acquired the highway and railway design consultancy, Owen Williams, allowing it to substantially grow its business and develop its own consultancy division. Amey acquired the rail consultancy arm of WYG Engineering Ltd in July 2010, Transportation Planning (International) Ltd (TPi) in February 2011 and Aquatech Engineering in November 2014.

At one time, Amey had its head office in Sutton Courtenay, Vale of White Horse, near Abingdon.[9] In April 2013, Amey completed the acquisition of utilities, waste and public service providers, Enterprise plc.[10]

In January 2016, Amey acquired Travel Point Trading Ltd (TPT), a strategic asset management consultancy with a strong presence in the rail sector in the United Kingdom.[11] In February 2018, Amey purchased Carillion's rail contracts with Network Rail in the East Midlands, London and the North West, following Carillion's liquidation in January.[12]

Andy Milner was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 31 March 2016. He replaced Mel Ewell, who served as CEO from 2003 to 2016.[13][14]

Operations

Amey works for the public and regulated sectors in the United Kingdom, selling services including highways and rail management and maintenance, facilities management, waste collection and treatment provision of utilities services as well as consultancy services. Most of Amey’s business is based in the United Kingdom; however it also operates in America, Australia and Qatar. Amey is involved in consultancy in the civil engineering industry, with a wide range of design and asset management services offered.

This includes structural design, civil infrastructure, transport systems and asset management services.[15]

The company retains its Oxfordshire links, with its head office located on the Oxford Science Park in the city of Oxford.

Major projects undertaken by Amey Roadstone Construction included Mount Pleasant Airfield, which was completed in 1986.[16]

Streets Ahead

In August 2012, Amey signed a 25 year private finance initiative 'Streets Ahead' contract with Sheffield City Council to maintain the city's roads, pavements, street lights and highway trees.[15] The replacement of up to 17,500[17] of the city's 36,000 highway trees is the subject of a campaign by local residents who argue that the majority of the trees listed for felling are healthy and could be retained using sensitive engineering solutions.[18]

According to the council, the 'Streets Ahead' tree strategy[19] means only trees which have been assessed as dead, dying, diseased, dangerous, damaging footpaths, private property or roads, or discriminatory by obstructing pavements are replaced.[20] The ultimate decision is taken by the council.[21] Over the course of the contract the overall number of highways trees will increase.[22]

On 26 March 2018, the city council announced an immediate pause of the tree felling scheme, following a wave of criticism and protests.[23]

Rail

Amec operates a two tram concessions and a rail franchise in partnership with Keolis

References

  1. ^ "Contact Amey." Amey. Retrieved on 13 August 2011. "Postal address Amey plc The Sherard Building Edmund Halley Road Oxford OX4 4DQ"
  2. ^ a b "Our history". Amey plc. Archived from the original on 23 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-23. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Elkes, Neil (13 July 2016). "Legal dispute could cost Birmingham roads contractor £55 million".
  4. ^ editor, Helen Pidd North of England (28 November 2016). "Sheffield trees dispute prompts 'scenes you'd expect in Putin's Russia'" – via www.theguardian.com. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ "Hard lessons learned". Oxford Times.
  6. ^ "The Abingdon Foundation Development Fund" (PDF). Abingdon School.
  7. ^ a b "Spanish firm set to buy Amey". BBC News. 2003-04-16. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  8. ^ "Tube maintenance back 'in house' as new deal is signed". BBC News. 8 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Amey bids for high-flying firm." Oxford Mail. Story date: Friday 22 January 1999. Internet date: Wednesday 27 January 1999. Retrieved on 13 August 2011. "Servisair, based in Stockport, Cheshire, has operating licenses in eight countries and provides services at more than 60 airports across Europe,[...]"
  10. ^ Amey's £385M Enterprise buy moves it into utilities NCE, 28 February 2013
  11. ^ "Amey has acquired Travel Point Trading Ltd, in a deal managed by BCMS". BCMS. January 2016. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  12. ^ Gerrard, Bradley (22 February 2018). "Amey buys Carillion rail contracts, saving 700 jobs". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Andy Milner: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com.
  14. ^ "Mel Ewell: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com.
  15. ^ a b Ltd, Hemming Group (2012-11-13). "Steel city highways to be 'streets ahead' under PFI". Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  16. ^ "About the Falklands". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  17. ^ "Council releases more of highways contract | Sheffield News Room". www.sheffieldnewsroom.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  18. ^ "Sheffield Street Trees are Under Threat - Join Us And Help Save Them". Sheffield Tree Action Groups. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  19. ^ "Streets Ahead Five Year Tree Management Strategy 2012-2017" (PDF). www.sheffield.gov.uk. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  20. ^ "Managing & looking after street trees". www.sheffield.gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  21. ^ "High Court Judgement - Sheffield City Council v Fairhall & Others" (PDF). Paragraph 18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  22. ^ "Council busts further myths on its street tree replacement programme | Sheffield News Room". www.sheffieldnewsroom.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  23. ^ Halliday, Josh (26 March 2018). "Sheffield council pauses tree-felling scheme after criticism". Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  24. ^ French firms wins 7-year Docklands Light Railway franchise BBC News 4 July 2014
  25. ^ Keolis/Amey to operate Manchester Metrolink Metro Report International 18 January 2017
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