Spain’s Sacyr Vallehermoso, the troubled construction group, on Monday agreed a €7.9bn deal to sell its toll road business, Itínere, to Citi Infrastructure Investors, a fund run by Citigroup, but questions remain over the Spanish group’s debt burden.

Once completed, the sale of Itínere would allow Sacyr to cut total group debt to €12.5bn, from about €18.5bn now, according to the company. Cash proceeds from the deal would probably be used to cancel some of the €2.1bn debt falling due next year, say analysts.