Logistics group Brambles yesterday announced plans to sell its waste management arm Cleanaway, which employs 8,000 people in the UK.

The Anglo-Australian group - which floated out of Redditch-based GKN some years ago - said it wanted to concentrate on its more profitable palletleasing and data management arms CHEP and Recall.

Cleanaway, best known for its blue street cleaning vans, also handles hazardous waste and provides ground maintenance and landscaping to more than 50 customers.

It operates four landfill sites and has a network of waste processing plants. During the last financial year it had a turnover of £495 million in the UK.

Cleanaway's other branches in Australia, New Zealand and Asia will also be disposed of within the next 12 months, along with its industrial devices and regional business divisions.

Brambles' chief executive David Turner said the disposals would enable the company to "maximise value" for shareholders.

Last month Brambles sold the European arm of Cleanaway but said its larger UK branch was not for sale. It raised £387 million from the sale of Cleanaway Germany to SULO, the German waste management group.

At the time a spokesman said: "There are currently no plans to sell any of the remaining Cleanaway businesses."

Analysts value Cleanaway UK, Britain's biggest waste management group, at about £470 million.

Brambles' Industrial Services operates in the UK, France, the Netherlands, America and Australia, offering mainly haulage and waste recycling services for the steel industry.

Its regional businesses include Interlake, the largest manufacturer of storage racks in the Americas, and Paris-based Eurotrainer, which manages the transportation of liquids, powers and gases.

For the year to June 30, Industrial Services and regional businesses generated a combined operating profit of £93 million for the group.

CHEP, which operates in 42 countries and Recall, which operates in 23, produced a combined operating profit of £337 million - 72 per cent of Brambles' total operating profits.

Mr Turner, said: "Both CHEP and Recall continue to have significant growth opportunities in their respective markets."

Brambles also announced steps to end its dual-listed status by creating a single holding company with a primary listing on the Australian Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange.

It is hoped this will eliminate the difference in Brambles share prices in Australia and in the UK.

Over the past 12 months, the differential has ranged from 6.4 per cent to 13 per cent.

Brambles also said it planned to return £1.2 billion of surplus capital to shareholders once the unification is complete.