MAG looking to sell majority stake
26.04.08
Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the majority owner of Humberside Airport, has announced it wants to sell its stake in the business. MAG plans to sell its 82.7% share to focus on its other larger airports - Manchester, East Midlands and Bournemouth. There is also speculation that it wants to raise funds to bid for a BAA airport, should the UK's largest airport operator be forced to sell one of its seven hubs.
The announcement has surprised North Lincolnshire Council which owns the remaining 17.3% of Humberside Airport. Council chief executive Simon Driver said the local authority ‘now needed to consider its position’.
A spokeswoman for MAG admitted that its decision had left an uncertain future for the 730 people who employed by a variety of companies at Humberside Airport. She said: ‘It is a great airport, it returns a profit but we feel it needs somebody else to take it forward as we concentrate on our core business at our other airports.'
MAG chief executive Geoff Muirhead said: ‘Humberside Airport is a solid business but the attention needed to maximise its full potential may not fit easily with the group's emerging strategy. The Humberside Airport team has done a fantastic job retaining and attracting airlines and maintaining stable passenger numbers, particularly during the last few years when competition has increased significantly.’
Councillor Driver said: ‘The airport has real potential and the council, as a shareholder, will look to maximise the development of the airport in the future. The council has maintained its shareholding in the airport since 1996. In light of the news from MAG, the council now needs to consider its position. It is inappropriate to comment further at this stage.’
Since buying its stake in Humberside Airport in 1999 for £10m, MAG has invested nearly £7m to improve and develop the airport's infrastructure. Routes currently served include Air France / KLM's worldwide hub at Amsterdam, many popular holiday destinations, including the Canaries, the Channel Islands and Scotland. Government forecasts indicate that Humberside Airport is expected to handle about 1 million passengers a year by 2016.
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