THE potential sale of a third of Southampton’s port operator has been hailed as a “great opportunity” for the city.

Goldman Sachs and Prudential are reported to be auctioning their stakes in Associated British Ports.

And city politicians and business experts believe new buyers could lead to a fresh wave of investment in Southampton’s port.

Goldman Sachs and Prudential’s infrastructure arm Infracapital were part of a consortium which took the company over in 2006. They own 23 and 10 per cent respectively alongside Singapore- based wealth fund GIC and Canadian pension fund Borealis, which both own a third of the company. But now Goldman Sachs and Prudential are widely reported to be auctioning off their stakes in the company, which runs another 20 ports in the UK.

It is understood GIC and Borealis could buy the shares to bring their stakes up to 40 per cent with the remaining 20 per cent sold off to new investors.

ABP, which reported underlying profits of £250 million in the last financial year, has ploughed more than £100 million into improving Southampton’s port in the past five years.

The port contributes £714 million to the local economy and supports 14,730 jobs.

Southampton city councillor Royston Smith, who sits on the Port Consultative Committee, said: “This doesn’t have to be a negative – it could well turn out to be a positive next step for the company and the port in Southampton.

“I would hope this could lead to fresh investment to a thriving port, which would allow it to be even more successful than it currently is.”

Dr John Marti, a senior lecturer at the University of Southampton’s Management School, added: “Goldman Sachs and Prudential in particular were hit by the financial downturn. Steady income rather than growth will be more important for them, so there is a great opportunity to attract investors who are more interested in growth because there are significant opportunities in Southampton.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we had interest from sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia, who have large amounts of money and are looking for opportunities.”

Harjinder Singh Virdee, a senior lecturer in economics at Southampton Solent University, believes that any company interested in the shares may want to set up a base in the city.

He said: “Whoever buys their stake may want to be a bit more aggressive in terms of pursuing a more profitable investment agenda so what we might find is the new company might want to step up investment in Southampton, given its role as a gateway to London.”

ABP, Goldman Sachs and Prudential declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Echo.