Stansted attracts three final bids of £1bn each

London’s Stansted airport has attracted three final bids each worth about £1bn (€1.2bn), according to sources.

A deal would give its new owner access to Britain’s fourth largest airport, which flew 17.4m passengers last year.

Stansted was not seen as an easy deal to sell because Ryanair accounts for about 70% of the airport’s traffic. The low-cost airline’s combative approach to pricing is expected to drag down the deal’s value well below other recently sold airports such as Gatwick and Edinburgh.