Ontario Teachers expand stake in Birmingham Airport
THE Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has substantially increased its stake in Birmingham Airport.
The pension plan has acquired the 19.25% shareholding of Victorian Funds Management Corporation (VFMC) in an undisclosed deal. The deal increases Teachers’ holding in the airport to 48.25% from its current 29%.
Teachers’ made its initial investment in the airport in 2001 and increased its stake in 2007.
The remaining stake in the airport is shared between the seven local authorities surrounding the hub – Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
Teachers’ investment is led by its Infrastructure Group, which manages a global portfolio of $11.7bn of direct infrastructure investments, including water and wastewater, electricity distribution, gas distribution, power generation, high-speed rail and port facilities. Airport investments include Bristol, Copenhagen and Brussels.
Andrew Claerhout, Senior Vice-President, Infrastructure said: “Birmingham Airport is a high-quality asset that we know well. It has good growth prospects and we look forward to working with our partners to strengthen its position as a key regional airport in the UK. Increasing our investment reflects our strategy of continuing the development of our airports platform.”
Paul Kehoe, CEO of the airport, said the Teachers’ had demonstrated strong support for the airport for more than a decade, enabling various improvements and expansion to take place, including the extension of its runway.
“We will continue to work with Teachers’ and the District Shareholders with the shared goal of developing Birmingham Airport’s connectivity to benefit both the region and the UK as a whole,” he said.
The airport has also received a further boost to its summer schedule after Flybe announced it would be operating a new service from Birmingham to Deauville in France.
The new route becomes the airline’s third new service to France in its 2015 summer schedule.
The three times a week service will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays between June 22 and September 26. One way fares will be from £24.99.
Deauville is a fashionable beach resort located in northwest France and known as the Parisian Riviera. It is famous particularly for its sandy beaches, grand hotels and casinos, golf courses and for hosting prestigious horse racing events, polo matches and the annual Deauville American Film Festival.
Paul Simmons, Flybe’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “We are pleased to offer passengers this brand new route to Deauville as part of our 2015 summer schedule that boosts further the large selection of flights to great city and sun destinations from Birmingham.”
Flybe will operate 26 routes from Birmingham for summer 2015 with a total of 339 flights a week. These include the two other new French summer routes – to Bastia on the northern tip of Corsica and Biarritz.
William Pearson, Aviation Development Director, Birmingham Airport said: “Flybe’s decision to introduce this new service to Deauville is great news for passengers in the region.”
