Gatwick owner in £800m deal to buy Edinburgh Airport

EDINBURGH Airport is to be bought by the group that runs Gatwick and London City airports, it was announced today.

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) will pay £807.2m to take over Edinburgh from current operator BAA which was forced to sell off the Scottish airport by the Competition Commission.

GIP, an independent infrastructure fund manager, said it hoped to complete the deal by the end of May.

Adebayo Ogunlesi, chairman and managing partner of GIP, said: “Edinburgh Airport is a high-quality infrastructure asset. Its acquisition is a landmark deal for GIP.

“We see significant opportunity to apply our tested and successful operational expertise and our knowledge of the global airports sector to develop and enhance the performance of Edinburgh Airport in years to come.”

Michael McGhee, the GIP partner leading the acquisition, added: “We plan to work closely with the airlines to improve customer service and quality in a similar fashion to the strategy we are successfully executing at our existing UK airports, London Gatwick and London City.

“We expect to continue to develop Edinburgh into an attractive and efficient capital city gateway by improving the experience of our passengers, business and leisure alike.”