"Airlines unite for Gatwick bid"
TWO of the country’s biggest airlines, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic, have reportedly linked up to front a £2.5bn bid for Gatwick Airport, which is a target of Manchester Airports Group.
MAG, owned by the 10 Greater Manchester councils, is known to be drawing up its bid for Gatwick with a view to submitting a proposal early in the new year.
It is understood that with funding for a deal of this scale at this time unlikely to come from a traditional source, MAG – which owns East Midlands Humberside and Bournemouth airports as well as Manchester – could team up with a cash rich sovereign wealth fund to finance the deal.
The oil rich state of Abu Dhabi – which has recently swooped for Manchester City football club and is in the process of taking a multi-billion pound stake in Barclays – is one possible bid partner for MAG.
According to reports EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic are talking to financial backers about forming a consortium, with the airlines pledging to base a large number of aircraft at Gatwick to ensure its future income.
Virgin and easyJet would not contribute financially to the bid, but they would guarantee long-term revenue.
BAA, the airports operator, has put Gatwick up for sale to pre-empt a break-up order from competition chiefs, which is expected to rule next year that the company’s control of London’s airports is bad for passengers.
MAG, if it loses out on Gatwick, is also keen on buying Glasgow or Edinburgh airports from BAA.
