BAA Ltd, the owner and operator of six British airports, has announced its decision to sell Edinburgh Airport in Scotland, to Global Infrastructure Partnership, a real estate infrastructure investment fund that already has Gatwick and London City airports in its portfolio.
The company is selling its 100 percent stake in the airport for £807 million, in a deal expected to close in May 2012. Edinburgh Airport has handled 9.3 million passengers in 2011, and generated gross earnings of £48.3m for the 2011 period.
After the sale of the airport, the company will still retain ownership of Heathrow, Stansted, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports in the UK.
Colin Matthews, the company chief executive officer, said, ‘Edinburgh Airport and its team have been part of BAA for a long time and we are proud of its achievements. We wish the new owners every success and are confident the airport will continue to flourish. BAA will continue to focus on improving passengers’ journeys at Heathrow and its other airports.’
Adebayo Ogunlesi, the chairman and managing partner of Global Infrastructure Partnership, said, ‘Edinburgh Airport is a high quality infrastructure asset. We see significant opportunity to apply our tested and successful operational expertise and our knowledge of the global airports sector to develop and enhance the performance of Edinburgh Airport in years to come.’
The company has sold Edinburgh Airport, as recommended by the UK Competition Commission, after considering a decision to sell either the Edinburgh or Stansted airports to improve competition in the UK aviation industry.
