Belfast City Airport for sale?
05.05.08
Ferrovial, the owner of airports operator BAA, is preparing to sell Belfast City Airport, the Times reports. This is not the first time it has been suggested that the airport is for sale, with the Belfast News Letter reported that Ferrovial was in discussions with investment bank JP Morgan regarding a possible sale last month, which was subsequently denied by the airport.
According to the new story in the Times, the Spanish construction company has appointed KPMG to run an auction of the airport, valued at about £100m (it was £100m - £150m last month). It says that the process will kick off in the coming weeks and is expected to attract interest from a wide range of investors, including the infrastructure arms of Prudential and JP Morgan (in the frame again), as well as private-equity groups Bridgepoint, HG Capital, 3i and Galaxy, the French fund that specialises in infrastructure projects. Bridgepoint is the current owner of Leeds Bradford airport, while HG Capital is the former owner of Belfast International airport.
According to the Times, which is casting a wide net, interest is also tipped to come from the construction firm Balfour Beatty, and Global Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture between GE Infrastructure and Credit Suisse, which bought London’s City airport in 2006. This group is busy at the moment, as it is also bidding for Southend Airport, also reported to be valued at £100m.
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