BAA announce Gatwick sale
21.10.09
BAA has agreed to sell Gatwick to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), an investment fund joint venture between Credit Suisse and GE, for £1.51bn. Most of the purchase price will be raised from major banks including HSBC, RBS, Credit Suisse and JP Morgan. The sale proceeds will be used by BAA to repay existing debt.
Colin Matthews, BAA chief executive, said: ‘Today's announcement marks a new beginning for both Gatwick and BAA. We wish Gatwick well for the future and are confident that the airport will flourish under new ownership.’ He added that BAA would now focus on improving Heathrow and its other airports.
The sale could prompt a series of developments at an airport that has been seen as the poor relation to Heathrow for years, but GIP is understood to want to attract holidaymakers rather than businessmen as part of its strategy for the airport, the Times reports. GIP are reported to hope Gatwick can gain business from airlines offering package holidays and destinations in far-flung locations while keeping budget airlines such as easyJet that fly to European destinations.
GIP is therefore not expected to try to challenge Heathrow’s dominance as the UK’s principal gateway or try to recruit its business passenger based flights. However, analysts told the Times that the investment fund may seek to expand the number of flights able to use Gatwick by pushing for a second runway.
Although an injunction prevents Gatwick from adding a second runway until 2019 a new owner might seek to accelerate a planning application to take advantage of growth opportunities the moment that ban ends. A new Government and an act of Parliament could overrule the injunction, although this looks unlikely. However, GIP will have to give guarantees to the Competition Commission that it will invest in Gatwick before regulatory approval is given for the sale.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book gatwick airport hotel or gatwick airport car park at the lowest price, click on these links to two great gatwick parking and gatwick hotels price comparison pages.
