Three major British airports have been put up for sale in a £10billion deal as their Canadian owner looks to capitalise on a resurgence in air travel.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan(OTPP) is in talks with minority shareholders to buy its stakes in London City, Birmingham, Bristol, Brussels and Copenhagen airports.
Current analysis suggests the five airports are worth more than £10billion, and OTPP owns stakes in each, ranging from 25 to 70 per cent. This would bring the total sale to over £3.5billion.
It comes as demand for air travel has bounced back faster than expected since the Covid pandemic, as Heathrow welcomed record passenger numbers this summer.
Now, The Times reported OTPP has begun looking for potential buyers, which includes Australian infrastructure investor Macquarie, as they look to cash in on the air travel boom.
Just last week Jet 2 unveiled record passenger figures for the first half of the year and said its full-year profit should beat expectations — and it is expected easyJet will report strong annual numbers on Wednesday.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan(OTPP) is in talks with minority shareholders to buy its stakes five airports. Pictured: Bristol Airport (pictured) which is one of the five to be sold
OTPP was part of a consortium that bought London City airport (pictured) for £2billion in 2016
Birmingham Airport (pictured) is also up for sale as its owners look to cash in on the resurgence of air travel
Jet 2 passenger numbers rose 11 per cent to 13.34million, up from 11.97million a year earlier, as package holidays and flight-only sales grew, helped by increased capacity after ten Airbus A321neo jets entered service.
Revenue was up 15 per cent to £5.09billion for the six months to September 30, aiding a 16 per cent increase in adjusted profit to £772.4million.
Full-year adjusted profit is likely to beat its average market forecast of £541million. Shares roared up 5.8 per cent, or 82p, to 1500p.
Some of Britain’s airports have already changed hands this year, including Heathrow.
Spanish investor Ferrovial sold a bulk of its stake in the airport to a Saudi-French consortium for £3.3billion.
Profits up: Holidays firm Jet 2 soared as it unveiled record results and passenger figures for the first half and said its full-year profit should beat expectations
French infrastructure group Vinci bought a 50.01 per cent stake in Edinburgh Airport for £1.3billion in April and ASG Airports, which runs Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, was sold this month to AviAlliance.
OTPP was part of a consortium that bought London City airport for £2billion in 2016.
The pension fund owner is now in the midst of a first refusal — a 30-day period where co-investors are given the opportunity to buy its stakes.
It is unlikely Birmingham City Council, which owns 18.7 per cent of the city’s airport, will buy the shares, because the local authority is technically bankrupt.
But Macquarie, The Times reported, has tabled a ‘take it or leave it’ bid for all five airports.