M6 Toll owner rakes in the profit after price rises

Profit at the company behind the M6 Toll road accelerated to almost £30m thanks in part to prices being raised in 2023, it has been revealed.

Midland Expressway has reported a pre-tax profit of £29.7m for the 12 months, up from the £6.3m it posted in 2022.

Its turnover also jumped from £110.8m to £134.9m in the year, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House.

The business said that its sales increased as a result of higher toll revenues and increased service rental income derived from traffic volume growth and price changes in the year.

The business is owned by Australian giant IFM Investors, which also has a stake in the likes of Manchester Airports Group.

Traffic on the M6 Toll increased by four per cent in the year to 17.7m vehicles while the average daily rate rose from 46,715 to 48,463.

More traffic heading to M6 Toll

A statement signed off by the board said: “Overarching trends remain similar to 2022 but the first half of 2023 performed better year on year reflecting the fact that early 2022 travel volumes remained affected by Covid.

“The second half of 2022 saw a significant reduction in the level of service on parallel routes, driving traffic onto the M6 Toll, which was not repeated to the same extent in 2023.

“Traffic in the latter part of the year is also thought to have been somewhat educed as macro-economic impacts due to the sustained high inflation rates and interest rates took effect.”

On its future, the company behind the M6 Toll added: “Trafford volumes in early 2024 suggest the post-pandemic recovery is complete, however, a recession was declared at the end of 2023, and higher than expected inflation has caused interest rates to remain higher for a longer period.

“These effects are somewhat evident in the latter part of 2023 [with] Trafford performance continuing into the first quarter of 2024 and are expected to persist.”