Belfast Airport set to change ownership

Belfast International Airport is on the verge of changing from Spanish to US ownership, with its owners reaching initial agreement to sell it as part of a combined €300m asset disposal deal.

Barcelona-headquartered Abertis, which two months ago announced the sale of Cardiff Airport for €61m, said yesterday that it is close to finalising the sale of Belfast International, Stockholm’s Skavsta Airport, the US airport management business of its British subsidiary, TBI, and the terminal concession business it owns at Orlando’s Sanford Airport. It is selling the assets — for a combined cash consideration of €284m — to Houston-based group, ADC/HAS Airports Worldwide.

The group said the sale fits its strategy of continually managing its portfolio, “in order to optimise its asset base”. The European elements of the deal are reliant on local authority approval.

Meanwhile, in other aviation-related news, Irish-founded international aircraft leasing firm, Avolon has said it is on track to exceed its full-year financial and operating targets for 2013, after seeing a “strong trading performance” in the first six months of the year.

During the course of the first half, the Dublin-headquartered firm expanded its customer base to 36 airlines and upped its lending group to 24 leading financial institutions.