John Collison amongst group of investors buying Weston Airport
John Collison is an avid aviator and licenced pilot.
Stripe co-founder John Collison has emerged as a member of a group of investors who have purchased a majority stake in Weston Airport located on the border between Kildare and Dublin.
The owner of the airport, Galway builder Brian Connelly has agreed to sell the stake to the group headed by Limerick financier Derick Walshe that also includes John Brennan, Catherine Greene and Gerald Dundon.
In a statement, the investment group said they now plan to upgrade facilities and to develop Weston as a general aviation centre.
The investment plan will modernise facilities at Weston to create a best in class experience for airport users, employees and the community. Bar, restaurant and conference facilities will be enhanced and improvements will also be made to the terminal, aircraft storage and hangar areas.
All current staff will be retained and it is envisaged that additional employment could be created for the local area as new services are introduced.
John and Patrick Collison are amongst the world's youngest billionaires with their company Stripe one of the world's biggest players in online payments.
Both are avid aviators and licenced pilots. John's involvement in the purchase of Weston comes just weeks after he spent €20m acquiring the historic Abbey Leix house and estate in Co Laois.
Confirmation of the deal was first reported in the Currency. in the statement, Derick Walshe said a vibrant Weston is central to the health of general aviation in Ireland.
"Our investors are aviation enthusiasts who are focused on turning Weston into a state-of-the-art facility. Our plans are to invest in and upgrade the existing aviation and non-aviation facilities and to create a destination that is open and welcoming to the local community. We are committed to revitalising Weston to the betterment of aviation in Ireland."
"We look forward to opening this next chapter in the story of Weston."
While headquartered in San Francisco, Stripe announced in March, it planned to expand in Europe and create up to 1,000 jobs in Dublin over the next five years. at the same time, Ireland's Strategic Investment Fund announced it was investing €42m in Stripe.
Weston Airport was established in 1931 by Mr Darby Kennedy, a founding father of aviation in Ireland. It currently accommodates flight training, flight clubs, light aircraft and helicopters.
It incorporates 9,000m² of operations buildings, an air traffic control tower, three large aircraft hangars and has over 20 based aircraft.
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