7:57AM, Mon Oct 29, 2012

£77bn Australian Investment Company Buys Stake In Newcastle Airport

By Andy Hughes Location: Newcastle

A Boeing 777 at Newcastle Airport

A £77 billion pound Australian capital investment company has bought a major share in Newcastle Airport .

AMP Capital won an auction for the 49% stake in the airport being sold by Danish airports operator Koebenhavns Lufthavne A/S.

It is understood that the deal values the whole company in excess of £300 million pounds.

The investment house, which manages more than £77 billion pounds in funds, beat competition from several bidders including Antin Infrastructure Partners, a BNP Paribas SA backed fund, and 3i Infrastructure PLC.

As part of the process, six of the LA7 local authorities (South Tyneside, Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, Northumberland and Durham) will make a further investment in the Airport totalling £68million.

Copenhagen Airport is selling its 49% stake as part of moves to scale back its overseas investments.

The other 51% of the airport, which has just completed the process of refinancing its debt, is owned by the region's local councils, known jointly as LA7.

Councillor Iain Malcolm, Leader of South Tyneside Council and Chairman of LA7, said: "The LA7 authorities are delighted that the preferred bidder for the 49 per cent shareholding has been selected.

"AMP Capital submitted an exceptional proposal and its involvement in running Melbourne and Launceston Airports in Australia will bring valuable airport experience. We’re delighted to have them on board and look forward to working with them to maximise the potential of the Airport.

"The completion of the refinancing is also great news for the region. The Airport is a major asset to the North East, generating millions of pounds for the local economy every year and supporting thousands of jobs.

"As a result we viewed the further investment by the local authorities as the right thing to do, not just for the Airport, but for the whole region."

Newcastle Airport was crowned the best UK Airport for the fourth year running.

The honour, in the under 6m passengers category, was handed over by the British Air Transport Association at the Airport Operators Association awards in London.