No sign of Prestwick airport sale

The New Zealand company which owns Prestwick has said there is no sign of a buyer for the airport, and its value has fallen. Infratil put its two UK airports, which include Kent, up for sale in March this year.

However it said the sales process for both had been "unsuccessful to date". As a result, Infratil said it had taken an impairment charge of £22m, which now values Prestwick at about £14.3m and Kent at £7.6m. Infratil said that it would "continue to seek a buyer for the airports and work with local stakeholders to review alternatives". 

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Infratil is selling Manston, but wants to buy Stansted. Why?

In March 2012, Infratil announced that Manston was up for sale because it wanted to "refocus its investment profile" and concentrate on retail, production and supplying gas and electricity. What they didn't mention in their press releases was that Manston had lost them money hand over fist ever since they bought it.

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Rival group enters battle for Stansted airport

A consortium led by an Australasian investment manager has emerged as an early rival to Manchester Airports Group in the £1bn battle for Stansted airport.

Morrison & Co, which operates out of New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong, is heading a bid team that also includes the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Infratil, a Wellington-based infrastructure investor.

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Boris shoots own foot in sympathy

'Boris Island' airport plan grounded over Johnson's briefing to Telegraph

An artist's impression of Norman Foster's design for a new four-runway airport on the Thames estuary

Downing Street told Boris Johnson on Wednesday that he had killed off any moves towards an airport in the Thames Estuary ahead of the next general election after an announcement by the London mayor was seized on by the Liberal Democrats. 

David Cameron and George Osborne, who have become alarmed by growing business anxiety about their opposition to expanding Heathrow, had indicated they were warm about a new airport which would assume Heathrow's role as a hub.

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Outlook gets gloomier for Infratil

BAA airport sale squeezes Prestwick

Have you ever had one of those weeks when things just seem to go from bad to worse? If so, you'll be able to empathise with Infratil.

In response to the general downturn and gloom, the bucket shops are reducing capacity and cutting routes. Flybe, the mainstay of Manston's struggling passenger business, is on the ropes and cutting routes that are busier than the infrequent services out of Manston - which doesn't bode well.

And now, to cap it all, BAA (easily the largest airport operator in the country) is moving the goal posts and increasing the competitive pressure on Prestwick, Infratil's busiest airport outside New Zealand.

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YES WE CAN: make it work

Profitable. Sustainable. Sound commercial proposition. Good corporate citizen. These are just some of the good things that happen when you work with, rather than against, those around you. It's not rocket science. It's not even science. It's sense.

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