Heathrow Airport Holdings to sell off three airports

Heathrow Airport Holdings (HAH) is reported to be planning to sell off Southampton, Glasgow and Aberdeen Airports by the end of the year.

The sale would mean that HAH, formerly British Airports Authority (BAA), would be left with just London Heathrow Airport. Reports claim that the sale would be in order to fund further development projects at the world’s third busiest airport.

A statement from HAH read: “Over recent months Heathrow Airport Holdings group shareholders and management have been considering their strategic position in relation to our three airports, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton.

“As a result the group is now formally entering a sale process. While there is currently no certainty that a sale will be concluded, the group intends to work towards completing a transaction by the end of the year.”

In addition to London Heathrow, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton, BAA once also owned Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh Airports as well, but following a performance inquiry by the Competition Commission (now the Competition and Markets Authority), BAA were ruled to sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports in order to break up the monopoly. Following the ruling, Global Infrastructure Partners purchased Gatwick Airport in 2009 and Edinburgh in 2012, and Stansted was purchased by Manchester Airport Group in 2013.