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Heathrow nets £1 billion sale windfall

17 Oct 2014
  Heathrow airport is remaining tight-lipped about how it will spend a £1 billion windfall following the sale of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports. Heathrow Airport Holdings will net £1.048 million in cash if the sale, to a consortium of airport operators Ferrovial and Macquarie, is approved. HAH will net an additional fee if approval is delayed. The deal leaves HAH managing only one airport, but a spokeswoman would not elaborate on a statement that said the sale would enable it to continue to focus “on improving Heathrow”. The sale is subject to EU merger clearance, but should be approved by January 2015, although a possible objection will be that Ferrovial owns 25 per cent of HAH. However, the sale is not being forced by competition concerns, unlike HAH’s disposal of Gatwick and Stansted. If approved, the deal means three groups now control the UK’s major airports - Global Infrastructure Partners operates Gatwick, Edinburgh and London City, while Manchester Airports Group runs Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth. The purchase by Ferrovial and Macquarie brings the partnership 12.5 million passengers through the three airports. The largest of them, Glasgow, accounts for 7.4 million. Aberdeen attracts 3.4 million passengers, around 500,000 of which are involved in the oil and gas industries. Gary Noakes
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