Bishop sells BMI stake
BOWDON-born aviation tycoon Sir Michael Bishop looks set to add more than £300m to his fortune by selling out of BMI, the airline he built up, to German carrier Lufhansa.
Sir Michael, 66, has activated a long-standing agreement with Lufthansa, for it to buy his 50% shake in the airline. The German carrier was already BMI’s second-largest shareholder, with a stake of just under 30%.
The deal, which is expected to complete early next year, will combine two of the busiest airlines operating out of Manchester. Lufthansa operates 83 flights out of Manchester, serving Munich, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Hamburg. BMI, which is headquartered in Leicester flies to destinations as diverse as Glasgow and Chicago.
Sir Michael’s sell-out comes at a time of increasing consolidation in the aviation sector. Carriers have been struggling to cope with high oil prices and the economic downturn.
Prior to this deal Sir Michael’s fortune was estimated at around £200m. His entire working life has been spent in civil aviation. After being educated in London he joined Mercury Airlines at Manchester in 1963, which was taken over by British Midland a year later.
He became managing director of British Midland, later renamed BMI in 1972 and led a management buyout in 1978.
He runs the Michael Bishop Foundation, which among other charitable works, supports the expansion of the Australian Flying Doctors service.
