Hot Features
Premium
Level up your trading with our powerful tools and real-time insights all in one place.
So Stansted Airport will soon have a new owner. What now for the passengers? What is in it for the public?
It was only a matter of time for the current owner, Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited (formerly known as BAA Limited) to give up London’s and UK’s third and fourth busiest airport, respectively, following a court ruling over three years ago.
Though the then BAA launched a legal battle against the UK’s Competition Commission’s decision to break its monopoly over London’s airports, it had to abide by the verdict even as it maintained no competition was hampered, despite owning three of six international airports serving the British capital – Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted.
Gatwick Airport was first to be sold, in line with the decision of the UK’s Court of Appeals, at £1.5 billion to a New York-based private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners – the same amount Stansted is to be sold at that one may joke it’s the going rate for buying an airport of that size. That same verdict in 2009 ordered BAA to sell Edinburgh Airport, also owned by BAA, for £807 million to the same group, which also owns 75% of London City Airport.
A Piece of London
The new owners, publicly-owned Manchester Airports Group plc, will take over the 17.5 million-passenger-a-year Stansted, adding to their portfolio composed of the Manchester Airport, East Midlands Airport, and Bournemouth Airport.
Manchester Airports Group or MAG is a privately-managed public company owned by 10 local councils of the Greater Manchester Area, with the City of Manchester owning the majority at 55%. The remaining 45% is equally shared by the nine councils, namely: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan at 5% each.
MAG owning Stansted then would mean the UK local councils will have a slice of London and distribute its profit for the 10 councils’ constituents’ common good.
Not exactly. MAG was only able to bid for Stansted after an Australian-based equity firm agreed to pay the company one billion pounds in exchange for a 35% stake, which will result in lesser equity by the British public to 65%.
Breaking the Monopoly
Now, with heavy hearts, HAHL is letting go of Stansted and will only be left with one airport in London, the UK’s largest, Heathrow Airport.
“Stansted Airport and its people have been part of our company for a long time,” HAHL’s Chief Executive Colin Matthews’s opening statement read. Without any reference to the three-year-bout against the CC over this sale, Mr. Matthews only went on to “wish the new owners every success”, confident that “the airport will continue to flourish” under the new management.
With three major groups owning the majority of the UK’s aviation infrastructures, one can only hope it will result to better facilities and better experience within these terminals and hopefully more revenue.
