The Bristol Port Company (BPC) was formed in 1991 when entrepreneurs Terence Mordaunt and David Ord purchased the Port of Bristol from Bristol City Council. Since privatisation over £500 million has been invested to create a modern, thriving business offering the full range of shipping, distribution and logistics services. The BPC website provides the following information: Bristol Port key facts: Bristol Port key facts: UK’s most centrally located deep seaport; £500 million invested since privatisation; 2,600-acre estate; More than 10,000 jobs depend on port-based businesses; Unrivalled motorway and rail connectivity; and 67% of the UK population – 43 million people – within 250 km. Each year we handle: 27% of all UK aviation fuel imports; 6 million tonnes of dry bulk goods; 25% of all animal feed imports; 750,000 motor vehicles; and 10% of UK coal imports for electricity generation. The UK Government has given consent for the construction of Bristol’s Deep-Sea Container Terminal (DSCT) which will bring the largest container vessels closer to UK markets. The BDSCT is designed to service not only today’s largest container vessels but also future generations of ultra-large container ships (ULCS) entering service with three 400 m berths dredged to a depth of 18 m. Bristol is the only deep seaport in the UK with direct motorway and rail links from the port to all points of the compass. It is closer to more of the UK’s container destinations than any other deep-sea container port, reducing time and costs on the inland leg of the journey. Additionally, recent trends and changes in the container port market provide the background to BPC’s decision to create new facilities at Avonmouth. There is an imbalance between the established location of UK ports and the distribution of inland container destinations; the inland distance travelled to final destination is increasingly significant for cargo owners. Bristol’s new DSCT will open up options for new transhipment trade to Ireland and Europe’s Atlantic Seaboard. Studies show that Bristol Port is closer to a higher proportion of the UK’s container market than ports in the South and East and has a strong competitive position in a national and international market increasingly sensitive to location. There are also potential benefits of port expansion for the regional and local economy: Bristol Port has an important role in redevelopment of the South West’s largest industrial centre and can reinforce that role through growth of new port facilities – as recognised in regional and local economic planning strategies. Already a major employer, with over 10,000 jobs directly or indirectly reliant on port-based businesses, the expansion will generate almost 1,800 new jobs – 1,500 by direct employment and the rest by economic multiplier effects. Some 360 new full-time equivalent jobs are expected during the construction phase. Studies by Bristol Port estimate that the proposed terminal will generate over £114 million a year in the local economy through employment and multiplier linkages. Write an essay (maximum 500 words) to be presented to the senior management team of your firm. In the essay, you are expected to address the following questions/issues: The Bristol Port Company (BPC) website provides a limited amount of financial data to be helpful in financial or management accounting analysis. What could be the reason for this limited disclosure? Identify and briefly discuss the information provided in the case that might be useful in deducing financial data required to apply the capital investment appraisal methods covered in this module? 

Use only two of the methods as your reference point in answering this question. Bristol City Council is a minority shareholder of BPC and receives dividends from the company. What questions would you ask as an investment adviser to the council? Discuss, how does Case information indicate the long-term nature of the investment project of BPC both in qualitative (or in words) and in quantitative (or in figures) terms