Midland Expressway Ltd
The contract to build and operate the M6 Toll was won by Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL) in 1991. In 2005 MEL reported an operating profit of around £16 million. Total revenue was £45 million, with staff and other operating costs amounting to £11.4 million and depreciation of £17.4 million. Taking into account net interest costs of around £43 million, that leaves an overall loss of £26.5 million in 2005 - their first full financial year.
As of June 2005, MEL was 100% owned by Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) of Australia, which operated several tolled roads in Australia and North America. Long term debt was £819 million as of 30 June 2005. Disappointing traffic figures for 2005 led to a price rise in June, and MIG Chief Executive Steve Allen commented in the Australian newspaper The Age, "What we need is to slow down the M6".
Business leaders in Staffordshire, now effectively closer to London, welcomed the opening of the road, saying that it would make it easier to do business there.
In June 2006 the decision to not increase tolls was put down to disappointing traffic levels and led to a reduction in value for the owner.
In 2010 MIG was split into two, and the M6 Toll is now managed by Macquarie Atlas Roads.
Read more about this topic: M6 Toll