Gatwick airport sells majority stake to French firm

A majority stake in Gatwick Airport is to be sold to French operator Vinci Airports for £2.9bn.

A consortium led by the US investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is selling a majority stake of 50.01% in the airport to Vinci Airports, one of the world’s top airport operators and part of the infrastructure group Vinci.

The other 49.99% will be managed by current owners Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

Vinci and GIP will manage Gatwick together.

The airport was closed in the run-up to Christmas after reports of drone sightings in what is thought to be the most disruptive incident of its kind.

Gatwick, the eighth-busiest airport in Europe by passenger numbers, was forced to close its runway, disrupting flights for 140,000 passengers.

In 2016, Gatwick's expansion plans were dealt a blow when the government rejected its proposal for a new second runway while giving the go-ahead for Heathrow to build a third runway.

Gatwick was acquired by a GIP-led consortium in 2009.

More than 45 million passengers travel through Gatwick each year, flying to 230 destinations in 70 countries, according to its website.

The deal would make Gatwick the largest airport in Vinci's network, which will grow to 46 airports in 12 countries - with total traffic of about 228 million passengers a year, according to the company.

It follows Vinci's takeover of Airports Worldwide's portfolio earlier this year, which included Belfast International and stakes in 12 airports across the US.

The airport resumed flights last Friday and has invested £5m in a range of anti-drone technologies over the past few days. Gatwick said there was no single commercial solution available for the type of drone activity seen last week. Vinci’s president, Nicolas Notebaert, said the drone scare was “without precedent” and the group would be looking “very deeply” at the threat.

The French group’s network includes Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport, Nantes Atlantique and Grenoble Alpes Isère in France; Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, Funchal in Madeira, and Osaka Itami and Kansai International in Japan.

Gatwick reported revenues of £764.2m for the year to 31 March, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization of £411.2m.