Souter sits out first round of bidding for capital airport

Published on Monday 13 February 2012 12:13

Sir Brian Souter is holding back on a bid for Edinburgh Airport, ruling himself out of first round bidding which could be finalised as early as today.

The entrepreneur has decided to sit out the first round, saying instead that his Souter Investments may seek to team up with one of the groups that reaches the shortlist stage.

Current owner BAA is being forced to sell the business after the Competition Commission ruled that it should not own both Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. At least four parties are expected to meet the deadline for initial bids, set for an unspecified day this week.

The bidders are expected to include Global Infrastructure Partners, JP Morgan Asset Management, and consortia led by 3i and Carlyle Group.

It is thought that a Scottish consortium headed by investment banker Ben Thomson will not make a bid, although he was not available for comment yesterday to confirm this.

Analysts expect the solid level of interest from high-calibre players will push the eventual price towards the top of a £600 million to £700m price range.

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bdj

Monday, February 13, 2012 at 07:56 AM

Pending Moderation

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Hector the Lessor

Monday, February 13, 2012 at 07:43 AM

Well he could be a Scotsman. As in a couple of years down the track the cost would be more sociable.

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