The owner of Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Southampton airports is being sold in a deal worth more than £1.5bn. The Spanish construction company Ferrovial and its partner Macquarie have agreed to offload the AGS Airports joint venture to AviAlliance, a German-headquartered airport operator. As part of the deal, which is expected to complete early next year, AviAlliance will pay £900m for the business and take on £653m in debt.
Ferrovial and Macquarie’s 50/50 AGS joint venture was established in 2014 after their £1.05bn acquisition of the three airports from Heathrow Airport Holdings. The airports serve about 10.8 million passengers annually and support more than 30,000 jobs. AviAlliance will add the three airports to its portfolio that includes airports in Athens, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and San Juan.
It is owned by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investors), one of Canada’s largest pension investors.
AviAlliance acquires UK airport trio
PSP already has a number of transport investments in the UK, including Forth Ports and Angel Trains.
UK airports have seen a significant recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic grounded most planes and brought the sector to a standstill. Many have smashed passenger records this year, with a record 30.7 million passengers traveling through Heathrow between June and September. Manchester Airports Group has also had record traffic in the past 12 months at its Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands airports.
Macquarie stated that AGS had invested £250m in the airports since 2014. This included a £17m runway extension at Southampton and a £20m investment into Aberdeen International Airport. Gerhard Schroeder, the managing director of AviAlliance, said: “Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Southampton airports provide vital connectivity for communities in Scotland and the south-east of England.
As a seasoned airport investor and manager with in-depth industry expertise, AviAlliance will enable each airport to realise its full potential.”
Noah Nguyen is a multi-talented developer who brings a unique perspective to his craft. Initially a creative writing professor, he turned to Dev work for the ability to work remotely. He now lives in Seattle, spending time hiking and drinking craft beer with his fiancee.
