6th May 2008 07:03
Balfour Beatty PLC06 May 2008 6 May 2008 BALFOUR BEATTY ACQUIRES BLACKPOOL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR £14 MILLION Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, services andinvestment group, announces today that Regional and City Airports (RCA), itsspecialist airport investment and development group, has agreed to acquire 95%of Blackpool International Airport for £14 million in cash. The airport is beingsold by Mar Properties, a large Northern Ireland-based property developer, andthe transaction is subject to receiving the approval of the remaining minorityshareholder, Blackpool Borough Council. The Council is supportive of thetransaction, and this approval is expected to be received by 9 May 2008. Blackpool International Airport is situated one mile south of Blackpool towncentre and has excellent road and rail links which provide fast access to theNorth West. Its current key customers include Jet2.com, Ryanair and Manx2.comand it provides an established base to a range of other air carriers and relatedaeronautical businesses. The airport is forecast to handle about half a millionpassengers in 2008, flying 12 routes to the UK, Ireland, Isle of Man andmainland European destinations. Commenting today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said: "Blackpool International is a well-located airport with the potential to becomea thriving international gateway to Lancashire and Cumbria. We will worktogether with the airlines and our local partners to help increase itspenetration within this core catchment area and to play its part in attractinginbound visitors to the region. We believe that our approach will deliversignificant, sustained growth in passenger traffic at the airport and willgenerate important economic benefits for it and for Blackpool. Our aim is todevelop Blackpool to be the airport of choice for residents, businesses andvisitors of Lancashire and Cumbria." Cllr Peter Callow, Leader, Blackpool Council, which owns a 5% stake in theairport, said: "This is absolutely great news for Blackpool. The Airport has developed rapidlyin recent years and I am confident that Balfour Beatty will be able to take itto an even higher level. I know that they have very exciting plans for thefuture which will see expansion of both flights and facilities. Clearly theyhave the contacts and capacity to deliver these aspirations which should meangrowth for the whole area and more jobs for local people." RCA acquired Exeter International Airport for £60 million in January 2007. Datafrom the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) shows that Exeter is one of the fastestgrowing airports in the UK and the strongest growing airport in the South West,handling just over one million arriving and departing passengers in 2007. Balfour Beatty Capital is an experienced investor in infrastructure, havingraised over £7 billion of funding for its 30 privately-financed projects inwhich it has over £250 million of committed and invested equity. Balfour Beatty also has a successful track record in airport infrastructuredevelopment. Its professional and technical services division has played a keyrole in the development programmes at Heathrow, Gatwick and the BAA ScottishAirports. Its construction and services subsidiaries have undertaken majorairport projects at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Hong Kong,Dubai and Miami. ENDS Enquiries to: Tim SharpTel: 020 7216 6884www.balfourbeatty.com Notes to Editors---------------- 1. Balfour Beatty has a substantial existing investment portfolio, largely through the UK PPP/PFI programme. This portfolio consists of:- - nine major hospitals - seven major schools schemes in the UK and a technical education PPP in Singapore - five road and three street lighting projects - the London Underground power system - a waste water scheme - a coastal defence pathfinder PPP - Barking Power Station (non-PPP) - Exeter International Airport (non-PPP). 2. Balfour Beatty Capital develops, owns and operates privately-financed infrastructure projects. It is one of the largest UK private sector infrastructure investors and has a broad range of skills from project promotion and development through to financing, project execution and long-term asset management and operations. 3. Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction, services and investment business, well-positioned in infrastructure markets which offer significant long-term growth. We work in partnership with sophisticated customers who value the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise. Our skills are applied in appropriate combinations to meet individual customer need. Balfour Beatty's financial position, with a strong balance sheet and operating cash flows, offers continuing flexibility to add additional capacity and expertise to the business mix and to make appropriate investments in PPP and other long-term growth opportunities. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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