Left-wing victories in Spain’s town halls pressure service firms

For more than a century, services group FCC has run the sewerage system in Barcelona, northeast Spain. Now the victory of a radical left party in town hall elections last Sunday is casting doubt over the contract.
The concession, renewed in January and worth 104 million euros  over seven years, is one of many FCC and rivals ACS and OHL hold in Spain’s three main cities Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia - all of which will have anti-austerity mayors keen on reassessing contracts.
From waste collection to water supplies and parks management, FCC alone has contracts worth a combined 250 million euros in the three cities, or about 4 percent of group revenues.
The incoming mayors have all said they want to return services to public hands or, at least, renegotiate contracts to cut their price or increase quality.
While the concessions businesses at ACS and OHL are smaller, they are also involved in several major infrastructure and construction projects that were fiercely opposed by the new local rulers and are likely to be put under review.