BAA wins appeal against airport sale
Just a few months ago BAA (the largest airport operator in the UK) received a ruling from the Competition Commission that it would have to dispose of three airports within a given timescale because of a reduction in the level of services being delivered to customers. The airports in question were Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow with a two-year timescale on the "forced" sale.
While the company has already sold Gatwick for £1.5 billion, with funds used to reduce the company's £10 billion debt pile, there was concern about a particular member of the Competition Commission panel who was connected to the greater Manchester pension fund, a supporter of a bid by Manchester airports group for the Gatwick operation. The ruling by the Competition Commission has been overturned and while there will no doubt be a further ruling regarding a potential disposal of more airports in due course, this does at least give BAA some breathing space in the short term.
BAA is owned by Spanish conglomerate Ferrovial which acquired the company in a multibillion pound deal a few years ago. However, since then it has become apparent that there BAA airports in the UK need additional investment, airport passenger numbers are down and the parent company itself has its own financial issues. These elements all came together at the wrong time!
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