Stobart pays £12.5m to up its stake in Stobart Air and Propius

CUMBRIA-based infrastructure group Stobart is to acquire all of the interests of investment house Invesco Asset Management in both Stobart Air and aircraft leasing business Propius Holdings.

Stobart Air operates Aer Lingus regional services under a franchise agreement, while Propius owns the aircraft and leases them on a long term basis to the airline.

In December 2012, Invesco invested alongside Stobart Group in Everdeal Holdings, the holding company of Stobart Air, and in Propius.

Stobart Group is to acquire all of Invesco’s interest in Propius amounting to 33.3% of the company for £12m, giving the group a total holding of 66.6% of Propius. The remaining 33.3% of Propius is owned by Aer Lingus.

It has also entered into a conditional agreement to acquire at least 36% and up to 40% of Everdeal for £500,000 from Invesco, increasing Stobart’s holding to more than 80%.

The deal is seen as a precursor to the sale of the airline to the Irish operator CityJet.

Propius and Everdeal recorded profits before tax of $7.5m (adjusted profit of $2m) and €500,000 respectively for the year ended 31 December 2015 and had gross assets of $154.6m (adjusted gross assets of $151.8 m) and €20.9m respectively.

Stobart Air has tabled plans to start daily passenger flights from Carlisle to London Southend, Belfast and Dublin and the group said the deals will enhance its flexibility in building new passenger routes at London Southend Airport with the aim of increasing passenger numbers to a run rate of over 2.5 million a year by 2018.

Consideration for both transactions will be satisfied from Stobart’s existing cash resources and completion of both deals is expected in November.