Councils share £107m windfall thanks to Manchester Airport’s success
The owners of Manchester Airport say they have seen a seventh consecutive year of growth thanks to an increase in passenger numbers.
The increase in profits means that Greater Manchester Councils have been handed £107m in dividends.
Manchester Airport Group – which also owns London Stansted and East Midlands airports – said revenues and profits were up, driven in part by a 6.5% increase in passenger numbers at Manchester.
Manchester City Council is set to receive £58.9m on the back of the results.
Each of the other Greater Manchester councils will receive a £5.4m windfall.
The pay outs are up 18% on the previous year, delivering a much needed boost to the region’s town halls.
The group saw a seventh consecutive year of growth in adjusted EBITDA which was up 5.8% to £358.8m.
The increase was driven by a 6.7% increase in passenger numbers to 58.9m.
Manchester Airport consolidated its position as a European top 20 airport with more than 70 airlines and 220 destinations driving passenger growth of 6.5% to 27.9m.
New routes have been announced to Mumbai, Seattle and Addis Ababa. Additionally, Manchester is now ranked 6th in Europe for passengers travelling direct to the USA.
London Stansted Airport passenger numbers rose 7.4% to 26.1m this year.
Stansted is the fastest growing major airport in the UK and now handles 7.6m more passengers per year than when MAG acquired it in 2013.
New services were announced to New York, Toronto, Boston and Washington DC, together with daily flights by Emirates to Dubai providing convenient onward connections to 150 worldwide destinations.
East Midlands Airport continues to play a key role in the thriving “Midlands Engine”.
Manchester Airport is in the process of a £1bn improvement programme.
Meanwhile MAG’s Property division generated a total income of £44.4m, boosted by increased interest in the Airport City Manchester site.
MAG has a pipeline of hotels at Airport City North, which will deliver over 1,100 new rooms in a £180m hotel district.
Meanwhile, 51,000 sq ft of office space was let to e-commerce business The Hut Group.
Charlie Cornish
Chief executive Charlie Cornish said: “The world class connectivity that our airports are delivering will ensure that MAG continues to play a leading role in powering the UK economy.
“Manchester and London Stansted are the two largest UK airports with significant runway capacity and our investment will allow us to meet continued demand for aviation growth both in and out of the UK.
“The Government’s support for airports looking to make the best use of existing capacity provides a clear framework for growth, and it is critical that it now matches its backing for Heathrow expansion with specific and practical proposals to improve rail access and maximise the potential of airports like Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands.
“As the UK prepares to leave the EU, we are confident that the UK Government and the EU recognise the importance of providing confidence to passengers and airlines, and we welcome the commitment from both sides to putting in place a framework that will enable air services to continue post Brexit.
“Looking forward, our resilient foundations, healthy financial position and attractiveness of our UK airports will ensure that the business is well-placed to respond to any challenges that may be felt by the UK economy in the future and we continue to take a positive long-term view of our prospects for growth.”
